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Quick guide to Harvard referencing (Cite Them Right)

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There are different versions of the Harvard referencing style. This guide is a quick introduction to the commonly-used Cite Them Right version. You will find further guidance available through the OU Library on the Cite Them Right Database .

For help and support with referencing and the full Cite Them Right guide, have a look at the Library’s page on referencing and plagiarism . If you need guidance referencing OU module material you can check out which sections of Cite Them Right are recommended when referencing physical and online module material .

This guide does not apply to OU Law undergraduate students . If you are studying a module beginning with W1xx, W2xx or W3xx, you should refer to the Quick guide to Cite Them Right referencing for Law modules .

Table of contents

In-text citations and full references.

• Secondary referencing
• Page numbers
• Citing multiple sources published in the same year by the same author

Full reference examples

Referencing consists of two elements:

• in-text citations, which are inserted in the body of your text and are included in the word count. An in-text citation gives the author(s) and publication date of a source you are referring to. If the publication date is not given, the phrase 'no date' is used instead of a date. If using direct quotations or you refer to a specific section in the source you also need the page number/s if available, or paragraph number for web pages.
• full references, which are given in alphabetical order in a  reference list at the end of your work and are not included in the word count. Full references give full bibliographical information for all the sources you have referred to in the body of your text.

To see a reference list and intext citations check out this example assignment on Cite Them Right .

Difference between reference list and bibliography

a reference list only includes sources you have referred to in the body of your text.

a bibliography includes sources you have referred to in the body of your text AND sources that were part of your background reading that you did not use in your assignment.

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Examples of in-text citations

You need to include an in-text citation wherever you quote or paraphrase from a source. An in-text citation consists of the last name of the author(s), the year of publication, and a page number if relevant. There are a number of ways of incorporating in-text citations into your work - some examples are provided below. Alternatively you can see examples of setting out in-text citations in Cite Them Right .

Example with one author:

Almeroth-Williams, T. (2019) City of Beasts: How Animals Shaped Georgian London . Manchester: Manchester University Press.

RSPCA (2024) Caring for cats and kittens . Available at: https://www.rspca.org.uk/adviceandwelfare/pets/cats (Accessed: 1 August 2024).

Example with two or three authors:

Grayling, A. and Ball, B. (2024) ' Philosophy is crucial in the age of AI', The Conversation , 1 August. Available at: https://theconversation.com/philosophy-is-crucial-in-the-age-of-ai-235907 (Accessed: 1 August 2024).

Chu, M., Leonard, P. and Stevenson, F. (2012) ' Growing the Base for Citizen Science: Recruiting and Engaging Participants', in J.L. Dickinson and R. Bonney (eds.) Citizen Science: Public Participation in Environmental Research . Ithaca: Cornell University Press, pp. 69-81.

Example with four or more authors:

Young, H.D. et al. (2015) Sears and Zemansky's university physics . San Francisco, CA: Addison-Wesley.

Note: You can choose one or other method to reference four or more authors (unless your School requires you to name all authors in your reference list) and your approach should be consistent.

Online module materials

(Includes written online module activities, audio-visual material such as online tutorials, recordings or videos).

When referencing material from module websites, the date of publication is the year you started studying the module.

Surname, Initial. (Year of publication/presentation) 'Title of item'. Module code: Module title . Available at: URL of VLE (Accessed: date).

OR, if there is no named author:

The Open University (Year of publication/presentation) 'Title of item'. Module code: Module title . Available at: URL of VLE (Accessed: date).

Rietdorf, K. and Bootman, M. (2022) 'Topic 3: Rare diseases'. S290: Investigating human health and disease . Available at: https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=1967195 (Accessed: 24 January 2023).

The Open University (2022) ‘3.1 The purposes of childhood and youth research’. EK313: Issues in research with children and young people . Available at: https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=1949633&section=1.3 (Accessed: 24 January 2023).

You can also use this template to reference videos and audio that are hosted on your module website:

The Open University (2022) ‘Video 2.7 An example of a Frith-Happé animation’. SK298: Brain, mind and mental health . Available at: https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=2013014&section=4.9.6 (Accessed: 22 November 2022).

The Open University (2022) ‘Audio 2 Interview with Richard Sorabji (Part 2)’. A113: Revolutions . Available at: https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=1960941&section=5.6 (Accessed: 22 November 2022).

Note: if a complete journal article has been uploaded to a module website, or if you have seen an article referred to on the website and then accessed the original version, reference the original journal article, and do not mention the module materials. If only an extract from an article is included in your module materials that you want to reference, you should use secondary referencing, with the module materials as the 'cited in' source, as described above.

Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) 'Title of message', Title of discussion board , in Module code: Module title . Available at: URL of VLE (Accessed: date).

Fitzpatrick, M. (2022) ‘A215 - presentation of TMAs', Tutor group discussion & Workbook activities , in A215: Creative writing . Available at: https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/forumng/discuss.php?d=4209566 (Accessed: 24 January 2022).

Note: When an ebook looks like a printed book, with publication details and pagination, reference as a printed book.

Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) Title . Edition if later than first. Place of publication: publisher. Series and volume number if relevant.

For ebooks that do not contain print publication details

Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) Title of book . Available at: DOI or URL (Accessed: date).

Bell, J. (2014) Doing your research project . Maidenhead: Open University Press.

Adams, D. (1979) The hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy . Available at: http://www.amazon.co.uk/kindle-ebooks (Accessed: 23 June 2021).

Note: Books that have an editor, or editors, where each chapter is written by a different author or authors.

Surname of chapter author, Initial. (Year of publication) 'Title of chapter or section', in Initial. Surname of book editor (ed.) Title of book . Place of publication: publisher, Page reference.

Franklin, A.W. (2012) 'Management of the problem', in S.M. Smith (ed.) The maltreatment of children . Lancaster: MTP, pp. 83–95.

Note: When referencing a chapter of an edited book, your in-text citation should give the author(s) of the chapter.

Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) 'Title of article', Title of Journal , volume number (issue number), page reference.

If accessed online:

Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) 'Title of article', Title of Journal , volume number (issue number), page reference. Available at: DOI or URL (if required) (Accessed: date).

Shirazi, T. (2010) 'Successful teaching placements in secondary schools: achieving QTS practical handbooks', European Journal of Teacher Education , 33(3), pp. 323–326.

Shirazi, T. (2010) 'Successful teaching placements in secondary schools: achieving QTS practical handbooks', European Journal of Teacher Education , 33(3), pp. 323–326. Available at: https://libezproxy.open.ac.uk/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/log... (Accessed: 27 January 2023).

Barke, M. and Mowl, G. (2016) 'Málaga – a failed resort of the early twentieth century?', Journal of Tourism History , 2(3), pp. 187–212. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/1755182X.2010.523145

Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) 'Title of article', Title of Newspaper , Day and month, Page reference.

Surname, Initial. (Year of publication) 'Title of article', Title of Newspaper , Day and month, Page reference if available. Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

Mansell, W. and Bloom, A. (2012) ‘£10,000 carrot to tempt physics experts’, The Guardian , 20 June, p. 5.

Roberts, D. and Ackerman, S. (2013) 'US draft resolution allows Obama 90 days for military action against Syria', The Guardian , 4 September. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/04/syria-strikes-draft-resolut... (Accessed: 9 September 2015).

Surname, Initial. (Year that the site was published/last updated) Title of web page . Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

Organisation (Year that the page was last updated) Title of web page . Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

Robinson, J. (2007) Social variation across the UK . Available at: https://www.bl.uk/british-accents-and-dialects/articles/social-variation... (Accessed: 21 November 2021).

The British Psychological Society (2018) Code of Ethics and Conduct . Available at: https://www.bps.org.uk/news-and-policy/bps-code-ethics-and-conduct (Accessed: 22 March 2019).

Note: Cite Them Right Online offers guidance for referencing webpages that do not include authors' names and dates. However, be extra vigilant about the suitability of such webpages.

Surname, Initial. (Year) Title of photograph . Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

Kitton, J. (2013) Golden sunset . Available at: https://www.jameskittophotography.co.uk/photo_8692150.html (Accessed: 21 November 2021).

stanitsa_dance (2021) Cossack dance ensemble . Available at: https://www.instagram.com/p/COI_slphWJ_/ (Accessed: 13 June 2023).

Note: If no title can be found then replace it with a short description.

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Format Your Paper & Cite Your Sources

• Harvard Style
• Citing Sources
• Avoid Plagiarism
• MLA Style (8th/9th ed.)
• APA Style, 7th Edition
• Chicago Style

What is Harvard Style?

What you need to know, harvard style tutorial.

• Other Styles
• Annotated Bibliographies
• How to Create an Attribution

Harvard Style

The Harvard referencing system is known as the Author-Date style . It emphasizes the name of the creator of a piece of information and the date of publication, with the list of references in alphabetical order at the end of your paper.

Unlike other citation styles, there is no single, definitive version of Harvard Style. Therefore, you may see a variation in features such as punctuation, capitalization, abbreviations, and the use of italics. 

Always check with your instructor and follow the rules he or she gives you.

• Harvard Style Guidelines Your class handout
• Harvard Referencing Quick Guide From Staffordshire University

Harvard Style will affect your paper in two places:

• In-text citations in the body of your paper, and
• The reference list at the end of your paper
• All in-text citations should be listed in the reference list at the end of your paper.
• Reference list entries need to contain all the information that someone reading your paper would need in order to find your source.
• Reference lists in Harvard Style are arranged alphabetically by first author.
• Begin your Reference list on a new page after your text and number it consecutively.

Sample References List:

Click on the Links Below to See Additional Examples:

• Sample Paper Paper provided by Kurt Olson
• Harvard Citation Examples Document created by The University of Western Australia

Click on the image below to launch this tutorial that was created by the University of Leeds. The section on Citing in Text is especially useful.

• << Previous: Chicago Style
• Next: Other Styles >>
• Last Updated: Jul 10, 2024 5:03 PM
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Except where otherwise noted, this work is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 and CC BY-NC 4.0 Licenses .

• Free Tools for Students
• Harvard Referencing Generator

Free Harvard Referencing Generator

Generate accurate Harvard reference lists quickly and for FREE, with MyBib!

🤔 What is a Harvard Referencing Generator?

A Harvard Referencing Generator is a tool that automatically generates formatted academic references in the Harvard style.

It takes in relevant details about a source -- usually critical information like author names, article titles, publish dates, and URLs -- and adds the correct punctuation and formatting required by the Harvard referencing style.

The generated references can be copied into a reference list or bibliography, and then collectively appended to the end of an academic assignment. This is the standard way to give credit to sources used in the main body of an assignment.

👩‍🎓 Who uses a Harvard Referencing Generator?

Harvard is the main referencing style at colleges and universities in the United Kingdom and Australia. It is also very popular in other English-speaking countries such as South Africa, Hong Kong, and New Zealand. University-level students in these countries are most likely to use a Harvard generator to aid them with their undergraduate assignments (and often post-graduate too).

🙌 Why should I use a Harvard Referencing Generator?

A Harvard Referencing Generator solves two problems:

• It provides a way to organise and keep track of the sources referenced in the content of an academic paper.
• It ensures that references are formatted correctly -- inline with the Harvard referencing style -- and it does so considerably faster than writing them out manually.

A well-formatted and broad bibliography can account for up to 20% of the total grade for an undergraduate-level project, and using a generator tool can contribute significantly towards earning them.

⚙️ How do I use MyBib's Harvard Referencing Generator?

Here's how to use our reference generator:

• If citing a book, website, journal, or video: enter the URL or title into the search bar at the top of the page and press the search button.
• Choose the most relevant results from the list of search results.
• Our generator will automatically locate the source details and format them in the correct Harvard format. You can make further changes if required.
• Then either copy the formatted reference directly into your reference list by clicking the 'copy' button, or save it to your MyBib account for later.

MyBib supports the following for Harvard style:

🍏 What other versions of Harvard referencing exist?

There isn't "one true way" to do Harvard referencing, and many universities have their own slightly different guidelines for the style. Our generator can adapt to handle the following list of different Harvard styles:

• Cite Them Right
• Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU)
• University of the West of England (UWE)

Daniel is a qualified librarian, former teacher, and citation expert. He has been contributing to MyBib since 2018.

Harvard Citation Style: All Examples

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In-text citations

Two or more works cited at one point in the text

If two or more works by different authors or authoring bodies are cited at one point in the text, use a semi-colon to separate them:

(Larsen 2000; Malinowski 1999)

The authors should be listed in alphabetical order.

Two or three authors or authoring bodies

When citing a work by two or three authors or authoring bodies, cite the names in the order in which they appear on the title page:

(Malinowski, Miller & Gupta 1995) 

In-Text & Reference List Examples

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Guide to Harvard Referencing

• 33-minute read
• 22nd June 2023

Note: This is an advanced guide to Harvard, useful for professional editors, academics, and students looking to bump up their grades with flawless referencing! If you’re new to Harvard and feel a little lost, check out our introduction to Harvard referencing .  For extra help from Harvard experts, try our student proofreading services  for free, or learn more about our  editing services for businesses .

Harvard referencing refers to the general citation style of listing a source’s author and date in parentheses within the text, with a corresponding entry in a reference list at the end of the work.

If a customer says they’ve been asked to use the Harvard referencing style, it could be one of many variations. You should check if a particular version has been specified. If there isn’t, use this guide to apply the version we use, but add a note for the customer to check with their institution. Also, pay attention to the requested dialect. Quotation marks, for instance, will vary depending on whether the citation is written in US or UK English .

In-text Citations: The Basics

Essentially, the surname of the author of the source and the year of its publication must be given in the text. If it is not known when a source was published, it must be indicated with “no date” (abbreviated to “n.d.” ) in place of the year.

If a direct quote is made from a source, then the in-text citation must also include the page number (or paragraph) of the quote. For page numbers, the basic form is “p.” for a single page and “pp.” for quotes spanning multiple pages. For paragraphs, use “para.” (e.g., for websites that don’t have pages); for long documents without page numbers, you can choose to include the section or chapter number or name (e.g., Smith, 1998, Section title, para. 3), but do check with your institution’s style guide.

Those key pieces of information are given in parentheses in the same font as the surrounding text and separated by commas. The bracketed citation should immediately follow the portion of the sentence that comes from the external source. If the author is mentioned in the sentence, then the bracketed citation (which will then just include the year of publication) will need to follow directly after the author’s name.

In-text citations can take three basic forms :

• Something else (Carter, 1940) is relevant to this example.
• Carter (1940) said something relevant to this example.
• “This is relevant” (Carter, 1940, p. 64).

If the source doesn’t come from an author with a surname – a corporate body, for example – then the name of that organization takes the place of the surname:

• This guide on Harvard referencing advises… (Proofed, 2022).

These basic rules will need to be adapted to various circumstances, which we will discuss next.

Multiple Authors

When there are multiple authors of the same work, the main thing to remember is that in-text citations name one or two authors. For three or more authors, only the first is mentioned, followed by “et al.” (in which case, note that a period is used in addition to a comma because “al.” is an abbreviation).

NB: When it comes to the full list of references at the end, all authors – some institutions put a cap on this, but others simply say to consult the course tutor – should be listed.

When both authors are named, the in-text citation will spell out “and” rather than use an ampersand (“&”).

Same Name, Same Year

An exception to only giving the surname of the author is if there are authors with the same surname and publications from the same year. In that case, the author’s initials should be added for clarity . Whether that initial comes before or after the surname, and whether or not it should have a period, will depend upon the university’s style guide. Our general approach is to put a period after an initial, as you would in any writing, but you should go for consistency within the document and flag the issue with a comment.

Multiple Works, Same Author

More frequently, you may come across citations for more than one work by the same author. If they were from different years but cited together, there is no need for the author’s name to be repeated. The years of publication are then listed in reverse chronological order (i.e., the newest comes first) with the years separated by semicolons . Each individual source is then listed in the reference list.

NB: When it comes to the full list of references at the end, the order of sources by the same author is chronological (i.e., with the earliest first).

If, however, the author has multiple works from the same year, a lowercase letter should be added to the year to differentiate the sources. The lettering should be alphabetical in the order that the sources are cited in the text .

NB: The crucial thing to check here is that the same system is reflected in the reference list at the end.

Citing Multiple Sources

If there is more than one source cited in support of a statement (e.g., multiple works by the same author), they will need to be cited in reverse chronological order and separated by semicolons . If the list includes works from the same year , they should be cited alphabetically by author .

NB: If the customer has consistently cited references in chronological order, then you should simply add a note for them to check whether this is what their university requires. Given the many variations on the Harvard theme, this could well be the case.

What if There Isn’t an Author?

You may see cases where the title of the source is given in place of the author. This is likely because the source has no named author (whether individual or corporate). In these cases, using the title of the source (the book, collection, etc.) is an acceptable variation, but it’s advisable to flag it with a comment to make sure.

Secondary Citations

If you’re presented with a reference to a work within a work (i.e., the customer hasn’t read the original but has come across it as a reference in another), this is a secondary citation.

• You should leave a comment suggesting that the customer try to find the original source and refer to that.
• Include the author and year of the original within the in-text citation as well as the author and year of the available source.
• Include in the Reference List only the source that has actually been read (the “available source”).

The Reference List (Or Is It a Bibliography?)

The Harvard style requires a full list of all the sources that are cited within the text to be provided at the end of the document. The standard formatting requirement is to include it on a separate page titled Reference List .

Sometimes, a university will require a list of all the sources considered within a piece of work, even if they haven’t all been cited. This type of list is called a Bibliography .

• The two terms – Reference List and Bibliography – are often confused. When proofreading references, it’s best to flag the issue with a comment pointing out the distinction and recommending that the particular requirements of the university are checked.

In either case, the sources are listed alphabetically by the first item in the source’s full reference (usually the author’s surname). A corporate author or title of a work (if that comes first) starting with “The,” “A,” or “An” should be listed as if that word weren’t there (e.g., a source from the Open University would be listed under “O,” not “T”).

• The easiest fix that you may need to make to a reference list (of whatever description) is ensuring that it is sorted alphabetically by the first item in each reference. This can be done automatically using a simple tool in Word .
• Where there are multiple sources by the same author, they should be listed chronologically with the earliest first (note that this is the reverse of the principle for in-text citations). NB: If the customer has presented the list consistently, don’t make any amendments. Just leave a comment for them to check that their approach is in line with the expectations of their university.

Detailing the sources in a reference list is probably the biggest cause of headaches for both writers and proofreaders. This is because the particular requirements differ depending on the type of source – and there are many .

The information itself is usually straightforward; it’s the formatting that gets tricky. In general terms, you could use the following as a checklist:

Let’s start with the most common types and see how those translate from in-text citations to full reference listings so that you can easily recognize them and, if necessary, fix them.

Printed Media

These sources are most likely to follow the general checklist given above. Within the list, “year of publication” is abbreviated to “year.” For particular issues relating to authors and years, please refer to the notes on in-text citations.

Audiovisual Media

Here’s where things start to get different.

• For movies, TV shows, and the like, the title of the work is foremost and determines the position of the source in the list of full references.
• It’s the director of a film who is credited, not the writer, and they get full billing (i.e., full name); it may help to remember that the big Oscar awards are for Best Film and Best Director, not (sadly) the film’s writer.
• The type of audiovisual media is given in square brackets after the title, followed by a period.
• The distribution details take the place of the publishing details.

Online Sources

Some additional information is required here, most commonly:

• As with audiovisual media, an indication in square brackets that the source is online.
• The URL where the source is available.
• The date when your customer accessed the source – because websites tend to be updated. This information is given in parentheses and comes last in the full reference. The final period is outside the closing bracket.

Some Specifics

With a wealth of sources available, there will always be something that doesn’t quite fit with the general principals. At the end of this guide is an alphabetical list of some you may come across and how they may appear ( remembering that there may be variations between universities ).

The aim of the list is to provide a baseline so that you know the main elements to expect. Consistency of presentation is key, as is the use of the commenting tool to point out where information may be missing – or the format may require checking with the university’s own preferences.

What to Do When the Customer’s Approach Differs

To summarize, the Harvard referencing style can be – and is – interpreted in a wide variety of ways. We’ve set out the Proofed standard approach, so here’s what to do when it almost inevitably differs from the approach taken by the customer:

• Look to see whether the customer has provided a specific version of Harvard to follow.
• If so, find that online (almost every university makes its referencing guide available on its website, and those are generally easy to search for).
• Follow the customer’s lead unless it’s inconsistent, goes against the version they’ve specified, or is otherwise contrary to the Harvard approach (e.g., if they use footnotes or don’t provide the author–date information within the text).
• Acknowledge that variations to the Harvard style exist. Apply consistency to the document and leave a comment to explain the approach you have taken.
• Contact Editor Support if you are still unsure.

But What About…?

• As may be seen in the listing for an encyclopedia, this should be recorded as an additional piece of information within the full reference for the source (it will not affect the in-text citation). The edition number (abbreviated to “edn”) should come after the main title of the book, be separated from the surrounding details by commas, and formatted with a roman font:

• Start on a new line.
• Be indented as a block (hence the name).
• Not have quote marks.
• Be preceded by a colon.
• If the author’s name is in the introductory text, then the year of publication goes in brackets right after the name.
• Otherwise, the author–year citation will be included in round brackets after the block quote.
• Where the author–year citation isn’t mentioned in the text, authorities vary on whether the citation should be on a separate line, left indented to match the block quote, right indented, or at the end of the quote before the period (as it would appear if in the regular text). In such cases, first check for consistency within the document, and then leave a comment for the customer to check that the approach taken is in line with their university’s preference.
• With the word “Figure” or “Table” (with a capital letter).
• Followed by a number, starting with 1, in the order that they appear (NB: in a dissertation or thesis, the number may refer to the chapter in which it appears – e.g., Figure 3.5 may refer to the fifth figure in Chapter 3).
• Then a title (caption) for the figure or table.
• Followed by the in-text citation for the reference of the source.
• The source of the figure or table (e.g., journal, book, website) should then be given in the reference list.

What Does the Proofreading Service Include for Referencing?

• Check that references and citations are in accordance with the customer’s version of Harvard. When in doubt, go for consistency and leave a note to explain your approach.
• It is the job of the customer to make sure that all the citations appear in the reference list and vice versa, but if you spot that something is missing, point it out with a comment.
• There is no need to check that the dates and spellings of author names match for each in-text citation and corresponding full reference; however, if you do see an issue along these lines, point it out in a comment and ask the customer to check the original source.
• Check whether all the expected elements of a full reference are present (which will depend upon the type of source), including the relevant font style and correct use of quotes, capitalization, and italics. Note any missing information in a comment for the customer.
• If available, check with the customer’s version of Harvard to see how the reference list or bibliography should be presented (e.g., title, on a separate page, with hanging indents).

What Does the Formatting Service Include for Referencing?

• Harvard doesn’t have any specific formatting requirements, so follow the Proofed house style unless otherwise indicated in the customer’s style guide.

What Falls Outside the Scope of Both?

The main purpose of referencing is for writers to avoid plagiarism. For that same reason, there is a limit on what can be done for a customer.

• Do not add or change information within an in-text citation or reference unless there is an obvious typo.
• Do not add citations or references, even if they seem to be missing; leave a comment instead.
• Don’t fill in missing information; leave a comment about what appears to be missing and provide information about how the reference could be written to accommodate it (e.g., “n.d.” if the date is unknown).
• There is no need to check URLs; if they appear incomplete, leave a comment for the customer to check them.
• You should read through direct quotes to check that the surrounding text leads to the quote appropriately and to correct any typos or obvious errors, such as additional spaces. If there looks to be an error or inconsistency, leave a comment for the customer to check the original source; it would be risky to try to fix it without access to the source itself.
• Don’t guess at which of two inconsistent names or dates may be correct; point the anomaly out to the customer and ask them to check the source.

List of Example References

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Write it Right - A guide to Harvard referencing style

• Referencing

The Harvard Referencing Style

What is citing, citing page numbers in text - some rules, using direct quotations, how to cite in the body of your text, secondary referencing, using charts, images, figures in the body of your text.

• Paraphrasing
• Reference List & Bibliography
• Elements in References
• Journal articles
• Online journals
• Newspaper articles
• Online newspapers
• Internet sources
• Government and legal publications
• Patents and standards
• Miscellaneous

The Harvard referencing style (also known as ‘author-date’) is commonly used at TUS Midwest. There are two elements to the Harvard referencing style. This means when you reference using the Harvard system, you have to do two things: 

• Include an author-date citation each time you refer to a source in the body of your essay. Note: also, include the page number if it is a direct quotation.
• Compile a complete reference list of all the sources that you cited throughout your essay on a separate page at the end of your essay. Note: this list must be in alphabetical order according to the first author's surname.

In summary, when you are writing up your college projects, you must remember to acknowledge the other authors you are using in two places:

• in the text of your assignment (in-text citations), and,
• at the end of your assignment (reference list).

If you have used the author’s exact words (direct quotation) or the author’s ideas (paraphrasing) from a book, journal article, etc. you must acknowledge this in your text. This is referred to as in-text citing:

In-text citations give the brief (abbreviated) details of the work that you are quoting from, or to which you are referring in your text. These citations will then link to the full reference in the reference list at the end of your work, which is arranged in alphabetical order by author (Pears and Shields, 2019, p.7).

Author prominent citing  This citation method gives prominence to the author’s surname (family name) as part of your sentence with the date and page number in parentheses (round brackets).  Note : The page number is necessary if you are quoting directly. 

Information prominent citing This citation method gives prominence to the information with the required referencing details in parentheses at the end of the citation.

Author(s) name

• For one author, use surname of author only. There is no need to include initials. Example - (Barr, 2016, p. 22)
• For two authors, use both authors’ surnames linked by ‘and’.  Example - (Tabrizi and Rahmani, 2021, p. 13).
• For three or more authors, use the first author’s surname and et al.   Example - (O'Neill  et al ., 2019, p. 120). 
• Give full four digits for the year.

Quotations should be used sparingly, selected carefully, used in context, integrated into your text, and reproduced exactly (including the words, spelling, punctuation, capitalisation and paraphrasing of the original writer).  Short quotations Short quotations (fewer than 30 words) should:

• be incorporated into your sentence without disrupting the flow of your paragraph,
• have single quotation marks,
• have the full stop after the citation, and,
• keep the same font size.

Long quotations   Long quotations (more than 30 words) should:

• be introduced in your own words,
• begin on a new line,
• be fully indented by default (i.e. 1.27 cm) from the left margin,
• be in single line spacing.

Separate the quotation from the lead-in statement with one blank line. The lead-in statement ends with a colon(:). Separate the quotation from the text that follows it with one blank line.

Quotation marks

• Quotation marks are not used for longer quotations.
• When using an information prominent long quotation, the full stop is included after the last sentence of the quotation after the citation.

Words omitted from quotations

• To omit unnecessary words from quotations, use an ellipsis … (3 dots). Note: Make sure the quotation still has the same meaning.

• If the quotation does not begin at the start of a sentence, an ellipsis should be used to convey this.

When you cite someone else’s work, you must state the author/editor and the date of publication. If the work has two authors/editors, you must cite both names. Don't forget to include page numbers for direct quotations.  There is no need to include the title, place of publication etc. These details are listed in the reference list at the end of your essay .  

For a work that has three or more authors/editors, the abbreviation, et al . is used after the first author’s name. 

For a work that has the same author/editor, and was written in the same year as an earlier citation, you must use a lower case letter after the date to differentiate between the two. 

Citing from books with chapters written by different authors  Some books may contain chapters written by several different authors. In this case the author who wrote the chapter should be cited not the editor of the book.

If you are reading a source by one author, for example, Garvey (2019) and he cites or quotes the work of another author, for example, Taylor (1996) you may cite or quote the original work, Taylor (1996) as a secondary reference. Note: It is always best practice to try and locate the original reference and secondary references should only be used if it is difficult to access the original work

Example In-text citation: Taylor’s observations (1996, cited in Garvey, 2019) are based on a genuine respect for nature.  OR  ‘Every living thing has a good of its own’ (Taylor, 1996, quoted in Garvey, 2019, p. 53).

Reference List: Garvey, J. (2019) The ethics of climate change: right and wrong in a warming world . London: Continuum.

Charts, images, figures etc. should be treated as direct quotations in that the author/editor, year and page number should be acknowledged in-text, and the full reference to the item should be listed in the reference list. 

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The Library, Technological University of the Shannon: Midwest

Free Harvard Citation Generator

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What is the Harvard Referencing System?

The Harvard citation style is a system that students, writers and researchers can use to incorporate other people’s quotes, findings and ideas into their work in order to support and validate their conclusions without breaching any intellectual property laws. The popular format is typically used in assignments and publications for humanities as well as natural, social and behavioural sciences.

It is a parenthetical referencing system that is made up of two main components:

• In-text citations including the author’s surname and the year of publication should be shown in brackets wherever another source has contributed to your work
• A reference list outlining all of the sources directly cited in your work

While in-text citations are used to briefly indicate where you have directly quoted or paraphrased a source, your reference list is an alphabetized list of complete Harvard citations that enables your reader to locate each source with ease. Each entry should be keyed to a corresponding parenthetical citation in the main body of your work, so that a reader can take an in-text citation and quickly retrieve the source from your reference list.

Note that some universities, and certain disciplines, may also require you to provide a bibliography. This is a detailed list of all of the material you have consulted throughout your research and preparation, and it will demonstrate the lengths you have gone to in researching your chosen topic.

‘Harvard referencing’ is an umbrella term for any referencing style that uses the author name and year of publication within the text to indicate where you have inserted a source. This author-date system appeals to both authors and readers of academic work. Scholars find the format an economical way of writing, and it is generally more accessible to the reader as there are no footnotes crowding the page. Only the name of the author, the publication date of the source and, if necessary, the page numbers are included in the parenthetical citations, for example: (Joyce, 2008).

Use the Cite This For Me Harvard style referencing generator to create your fully-formatted in-text references and reference list in the blink of an eye. Stop giving yourself extra pain and work for no reason and sign up to Cite This For Me today – your only regret will be that you didn’t use our citation generator sooner!

Popular Harvard Referencing Examples

• Chapter of a book
• Conference proceedings 
• Court case 
• Dissertation 
• Encyclopedia article 
• Image online or video
• Presentation or lecture
• Video, film, or DVD

Cite This For Me Harvard Referencing Guide

The following guide provides you with everything you need to know to do justice to all your hard work and get a mark that reflects those sleepless nights. If you’re not sure how to format your Harvard style citations, what citations are, or are simply curious about the Cite This For Me citation generator, our guide will answer all of your questions while offering you a comprehensive introduction to the style. Keep reading to find out why you need to use a referencing system, how to add citations in the body of your assignment, and how to compile a reference list.

Sometimes, students do not encounter citing until they embark on to degree-level studies, yet it is a crucial academic skill that will propel you towards establishing yourself in the academic community. It’s a common mistake to leave citing and creating a complete and accurate bibliography until the very last minute, but with the Cite This For Me Harvard referencing generator you can cite-as-you-go.

So, if you need a helping hand with your referencing then why not try Cite This For Me’s automated citation generator ? The generator accesses knowledge from across the web, assembling all of the relevant information into a fully-formatted reference list that clearly presents all of the sources that have contributed to your work. Using this Harvard reference generator to cite your sources enables you to cross the finishing line in style.

It is important to bear in mind that there is a plethora of different citation styles out there – the use of any particular one depends on the preference of your college, subject, professor or the publication you are submitting the work to. If you’re unsure which style you should be using, consult your tutor and follow their guidelines. If your lecturer or department does not ask you to use a particular style, we recommend using the Harvard referencing system because it is simple to use and easy to learn.

The powerful citation generator above can auto-generate citations in 7,000+ styles. So, whether your professor prefers that you use the MLA format , or your discipline requires you to adopt the APA citation or Chicago citation style , we have the style you need. Cite This For Me also provides citation generators and handy style guides for styles such as ASA , AMA or IEEE . To accurately create citations in a specific format, simply sign up to Cite This For Me for free and select your chosen style.

Are you struggling with citing an unfamiliar source type? Or feeling confused about whether to cite a piece of common knowledge? This guide will tell you everything you need to know to get both your parenthetical Harvard citations and reference list completed quickly and accurately.

Why Do I Need to Cite?

Harvard referencing can be a confusing task, especially if you are new to the concept, but it’s absolutely essential. In fact, accurate and complete referencing can mean the difference between reaching your academic goals and damaging your reputation amongst scholars. Simply put – referencing is the citing of sources you have utilised to support your essay, research, conference or article, etc.

Even if you are using our Harvard style citation generator, understanding why you need to cite will go a long way in helping you to naturally integrate the process into your research and writing routine.

Firstly, whenever another source contributes to your work you must give the original author the appropriate credit in order to avoid plagiarism, even when you have completely reworded the information. The only exception to this rule is common knowledge – e.g., Brazil is a country in South America. While plagiarism is not always intentional, it is easy to accidentally plagiarize your work when you are under pressure from imminent deadlines, you have managed your time ineffectively, or if you lack confidence when putting ideas into your own words. The consequences can be severe; deduction of marks at best, expulsion from college or legal action from the original author at worst. Find out more here.

This may sound overwhelming, but using our Harvard citation generator can help you avoid plagiarism and carry out your research and written work thoughtfully and responsibly. We have compiled a handy checklist to follow while you are working on an assignment.

How to avoid plagiarism:

• Formulate a detailed plan – carefully outline both the relevant content you need to include, as well as how you plan on structuring your work
• Keep track of your sources – record all of the relevant publication information as you go (e.g., If you are citing a book you should note the author or editor’s name(s), year of publication, title, edition number, city of publication and name of publisher). Carefully save each quote, word-for-word, and place it in inverted commas to differentiate it from your own words. Tired of interrupting your workflow to cite? Use our Harvard referencing generator to automate the process.
• Manage your time effectively – make use of time plans and targets, and give yourself enough time to read, write and proofread
• When you are paraphrasing information, make sure that you use only your own words and a sentence structure that differs from the original text
• Every quote or paraphrase should have a corresponding reference in the text. In addition, a full reference is needed on the final page of the project.
• Save all of your research and citations in a safe place – organise and manage your Harvard style citations

If you carefully check your college or publisher’s advice and guidelines on citing and stick to this checklist, you should be confident that you will not be accused of plagiarism.

Secondly, proving that your writing is informed by appropriate academic reading will enhance your work’s authenticity. Academic writing values original thought that analyzes and builds upon the ideas of other scholars. It is therefore important to use Harvard style referencing to accurately signpost where you have used someone else’s ideas in order to show that your writing is based on knowledge and informed by appropriate academic reading. Citing your sources will demonstrate to your reader that you have delved deeply into your chosen topic and supported your thesis with expert opinions.

Here at Cite This For Me we understand how precious your time is, which is why we created our Harvard citation generator and guide to help relieve the unnecessary stress of citing. Escape assignment-hell and give yourself more time to focus on the content of your work by using the Cite This For Me citation management tool.

Harvard Referencing Guidelines by School

• Anglia University Harvard Referencing
• Anglia Ruskin University
• Bath University
• Bournemouth University Harvard Referencing
• Cape Peninsula University of Technology
• Cardiff University Harvard Referencing
• City University London
• Coventry University Harvard Referencing
• Cranfield Harvard
• DMU Harvard Referencing
• Durham University Business School
• Edge Hill University Harvard Referencing
• European Archaeology
• Imperial College University Harvard Referencing
• Institute of Physics
• Leeds University Harvard Referencing
• King’s College London
• LSBU Harvard Referencing
• Manchester Business School
• MMU Harvard Referencing
• Newcastle University
• Northwest University
• Oxford Brookes University
• Oxford Centre for Mission Studies
• SHU Harvard Referencing
• Staffordshire University Harvard Referencing
• Swinburne University of Technology
• The Open University
• UCA Harvard Referencing
• University of Abertay Dundee
• University of Birmingham
• University of Cape Town
• University of Gloucestershire
• University of Greenwich Harvard
• University of Hull
• University of Kent – Harvard
• University of Limerick
• University of Melbourne
• University of Northampton
• University of Sunderland
• University of Technology, Sydney
• University of West London
• UWE Harvard Referencing
• UWS Harvard Referencing
• Wolverhampton University Harvard Referencing
• York University

How Do I Create and Format In-text Harvard Style Citations?

In-text citations are the perfect way to seamlessly integrate sources into your work, allowing you to strengthen the connection between your own ideas, and the source material that you have found, with ease. It is worth noting that in-text citations must be included in your assignment’s final word count.

When adopting Harvard style referencing in your work, if you are inserting a quote, statement, statistic or any other kind of source information into the main body of your essay you should:

• Provide the author’s surname and date of publication in parentheses right after the taken information or at the end of the sentence

There are many assumptions when it comes to the information processing approach to cognition… (Lutz and Huitt, 2004).

• If you have already mentioned the author in the sentence, Harvard referencing guidelines require you to only enter the year of publication in parentheses, directly after where the author’s surname is mentioned.

In the overview of these developmental theories, Lutz and Huitt (2004) suggest that…

• If you are quoting a particular section of the source (rather than the entire work), you should also include a page number, or page range, after the date, within the parenthetical Harvard citation

“…the development of meaning is more important than the acquisition of a large set of knowledge or skills …” (Lutz and Huitt, 2004, p.8), which means that …

• Note that if the source has four or more authors, you do not need to write out all of their surnames; simply use the first author’s surname followed by the abbreviation ‘et al.’ (meaning ‘and others’).

The results showed that respondents needed to reach out to multiple health agencies in order to cover the costs of their services (Wolbeck Minke et al., 2007).

• If you are reading a source by one author and they cite work by another author, you may cite that original work as a secondary reference. You are encouraged to track down the original source – usually this is possible to do by consulting the author’s reference list – but if you are unable to access it, the Harvard referencing guidelines state that you must only cite the source you did consult as you did not actually read the original document. Include the words ‘cited in’ in the in-text citation to indicate this.

Fong’s 1987 study (cited in Bertram 1997) found that older students’ memory can be as good as that of young people…

(Fong, cited in Bertram 1997)

Why use a Harvard referencing tool? As well as saving you valuable time, the Cite This For Me generator can help you easily avoid common errors when formatting your in-text citations. So, if you’re looking for an easy way to credit your source material, simply login to your Cite This For Me account to copy, save and export each in-text Harvard citation.

How Do I Format My Reference List?

Utilizing and building on a wide range of relevant sources is one way of impressing your reader, and a comprehensive list of the source material you have used is the perfect platform to exhibit your research efforts. A reference list is always required when you cite other people’s work within your assignment, and the brief in-text Harvard style citations in your work should directly link to your reference list.

As a general rule a reference list includes every source that you have cited in your work, while a bibliography also contains any relevant background reading which you have consulted to familiarise yourself with the topic (even those sources that are never mentioned in the narrative). Your Harvard referencing bibliography should start on its own page, with the same formatting as the rest of the paper and aligned to the left with the sources listed alphabetically. Certain fields ask you to provide an annotated bibliography that includes your full citations with the addition of notes. These notes are added to further analyze the source, and can be of any length.

Many people use the terms ‘reference list’ and ‘bibliography’ interchangeably, and if you are using the Harvard reference style you may be required to provide a bibliography as well as a reference list, so be sure to check this with your tutor.

Follow these guidelines when compiling your reference list:

• Start your reference list on a new page at the end of your document
• General formatting should be in keeping with the rest of your work
• Use ‘Reference List’ as the heading
• Copy each of your full-length Harvard citations into a list
• Arrange the list in alphabetical order by the author’s last name (titles with no author are alphabetized by the work’s title, and if you are citing two or more sources by the same author they should be listed in chronological order of the year of publication)
• When there are several works from one author or source, they should be listed together but in date order – with the earliest work listed first
• Italicize titles of books, reports, conference proceedings etc. For journal articles, the title of the journal should be printed in italics, rather than the title of the journal article
• Capitalize the first letter of the publication title, the first letters of all main words in the title of a journal, and all first letters of a place name and publisher

Creating and managing your reference list with the Cite This For Me Harvard referencing generator will help improve the way you reference and conduct research.

Reference list / bibliography examples:

• Book, one author:

Bell, J. (2010) Doing your research project . 5th edn. Maidenhead: Open University Press.

• One author, book, multiple editions:

Hawking, S.W. (1998) A brief history of time: From the big bang to black holes . 10th edn. New York: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group.

• Chapter in an edited book:

Jewsiewicki, B. (2010). ‘Historical Memory and Representation of New Nations in Africa’, in Diawara, M., Lategan, B., and Rusen, J. (eds.) Historical memory in Africa: Dealing with the past, reaching for the future in an intercultural context . New York: Berghahn Books, pp. 53-66.

If all information resembles a book, use the template for a book reference

If a page number is unavailable, use chapter number. URL links are not necessary, but can be useful. When including a URL, include the date the book was downloaded at the end of the Harvard citation:

Available at: URL (Downloaded: DD Month YYYY)

• More than three authors, journal article*:

Shakoor, J., et al. (2011) ‘A prospective longitudinal study of children’s theory of mind and adolescent involvement in bullying’, Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry , 53(3), pp. 254–261. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2011.02488.x.

• Conference papers:

Drogen, E. (2014) ‘Changing how we think about war: The role of psychology’, The British Psychological Society 2014 Annual Conference . The ICC, Birmingham British Psychological Society, 07-09 May 2014.

• Web page, by an individual:

Moon, M. (2019) Ubisoft put an official video game design course inside a video game . Available at https://www.engadget.com/2019/09/25/ubisoft-video-game-design-course/ (Accessed 19 November 2019).

• Web page, by a company or organization:

RotoBaller (2019) NFL player news . Available at https://www.rotoballer.com/player-news?sport=nfl (Accessed 17 September 2019).

For both types of web page references, the date the page was published or updated is placed in parentheses immediately following the author information. If a date is missing from the source, place (no date) next to the author’s name and make sure to include an accessed date at the end of the reference.

Are you struggling to find all of the publication information to complete a reference? Did you know that our Harvard citation generator can help you?

Time is of the essence when you’re finishing a paper, but there’s no need to panic because you can compile your reference list in a matter of seconds using the Cite This For Me Harvard style citation generator. Sign in to your Cite This For Me account to save and export your reference list.

Harvard Referencing Formatting Guidelines

Accurate referencing doesn’t only protect your work from plagiarism – presenting your source material in a consistent and clear way also enhances the readability of your work. Closely follow the style’s formatting rules on font type, font size, text-alignment and line spacing to ensure that your work is easily legible. Before submitting your work check that you have formatted your whole paper – including your reference list – according to the style’s formatting guidelines.

How to format in Harvard referencing:

• Margins: 2.5cm on all sides
• Shortened title followed by the page number in the header, aligned to the right
• Double-space the entirety of the paper
• ½ inch indentation for every new paragraph (press tab bar)
• Suggested fonts: Times New Roman, Arial and Courier New for Windows; Times New Roman, Helvetica and Courier for Mac, 12pt size. Ensure that all Harvard citations are in the same font as the rest of the work
• Reference list on a separate page at the end of the body of your work

Even when using a Harvard citation generator, always check with your professor for specified guidelines – there is no unified style for the formatting of a paper. Make sure that you apply the recommended formatting rules consistently throughout your work.

A Brief History of the Harvard Reference Style

The author-date system is attributed to eminent zoologist Edward Laurens Mark (1847-1946), Hersey professor of anatomy and director of Harvard’s zoological laboratory. It is widely agreed that the first evidence of Harvard referencing can be traced back to Mark’s landmark cytological paper (Chernin, 1988). The paper breaks away from previous uses of inconsistent and makeshift footnotes through its use of a parenthetical author-date citation accompanied by an explanatory footnote.

• Parenthetic author-year citation, page 194 of Mark’s 1881 paper:

[…] The appearance may be due solely to reflection from the body itself. (Comp. Flemming, ‘78b, p. 310.*)

• Mark’s rationale for his Harvard citational scheme:

*The numbers immediately following an author’s name serve the double purpose of referring the reader to the list (p. 591) where the titles of papers are given, and of informing him at once of the approximate date of the paper in question.

A tribute dedicated to Mark in 1903 by 140 students credits Mark’s paper with having ‘introduced into zoology a proper fullness and accuracy of citation and a convenient and uniform method of referring from text to bibliography’ (Parker, 1903). Today Harvard referencing is widely considered one of the most accessible styles and, although it originated in biology, these days it is used across most subjects – particularly in the humanities, history and social science.

The Evolution of the Harvard Referencing Style

Due to its simplicity and ease of use, the format has become one of the most widely used citation styles in the world. Unlike many citing styles there is no official manual, but institutions such as colleges offer their own unique Harvard reference style guide, and each has its own nuances when it comes to punctuation, order of information and formatting rules. Simply go to the Cite This For Me website to login to your Cite This For Me account and search for the version you need. Make sure you apply consistency throughout your work.

It is increasingly easy for writers to access information and knowledge via the internet, and in turn both the style’s guidelines and our citation generator are continually updated to include developments in electronic publishing. The Cite This For Me Harvard style citation generator currently uses the Cite Them Right 10th Edition, which has evolved in recent years to match the rapidly advancing digital age. In order to avoid plagiarism, you must be cautious about pulling information from the internet, and ensure that you accurately cite all source material used in your written work – including all online sources that have contributed to your research.

Key differences from previous Harvard referencing Cite Them Right editions:

• Previous editions required printed books and eBooks to be referenced differently – in the 10th edition, both are now referenced using the same template (if all the necessary information is available). An Ebook is considered to be the digital format of a published book (or a book that is only published in digital format) that is meant for reading on an electronic device.
• URLs are no longer a requirement for digital media if the information provided in the Harvard citation is sufficient to find the source without it. They should be included if the source is difficult to find, or pieces of source information – such as an author name – are missing.
• When a source has more than 3 authors, use the abbreviation “et al.” instead of listing each out.

These days students draw on a diverse range of digital sources to support their written work. Whether you are citing a hashtag on Instagram , a podcast or a mobile app, the Cite This For Me generator will take care of your Harvard citations, regardless of the type of source you want to cite. So don’t be held back by sources that are difficult to cite – locating unusual source material will help your work to stand out from the crowd.

How Do I Create Accurate Harvard Citations?

Creating complete and correctly formatted citations can be a challenge for many writers, especially when documenting multiple source types. Our primary goal at Cite This For Me is to offer support to students and researchers across the globe by transforming the way in which they perceive citing. We hope that after using our citation generator and reading this Harvard referencing guide, what was once considered an arduous process, will be viewed as a highly-valued skill that enhances the quality of your work.

Disheartened by the stressful process of citing? Got a fast-approaching deadline? Using the Cite This For Me fast, accessible and free generator makes creating accurate citations easier than ever, leaving more time for you to focus on achieving your academic goals.

Create a free account to add and edit each Harvard citation on the spot, import and export full projects or individual entries. Things get even easier with Cite This For Me for Chrome – an intuitive, handy browser extension that allows you to create and edit a citation while you browse the web. Use the extension on any webpage that you want to cite, and add it to your chosen project without interrupting your workflow.

The Cite This For Me citation management tool is here to help you, so what are you waiting for? Accurate Harvard citations are just a click away!

Reference List

Chernin, E. (1988) The ‘Harvard System’: A mystery dispelled. Available at: http://www.uefap.com/writing/referenc/harvard.pdf (Accessed: 4 July 2016).

Parker, G. (ed.) (1903) Mark anniversary volume. New York: Henry Holt.

Manage all your citations in one place

Create projects, add notes, and cite directly from your browser. Sign up for Cite This For Me today!

• SCU Library
• Library guides
• Referencing Guides

Harvard Referencing Guide

Appendix guidelines.

• An appendix (plural appendices) contain material that belongs with your paper, rather than in it. They go at the very end of your paper, after your reference list.
• The appendix can include text, tables, figures, or a combination of these.
• Each appendix starts on a separate page.
• If you have one appendix in your assessment, label the section, Appendix. If there are two or more, label each appendix with a capital letter (e.g. Appendix A, Appendix B etc).
• … showed higher participation rates (see Appendix A).
• As shown in Appendix B, the results …
• If you have written the appendix and used outside materials, just insert the citations in the text of your appendix as normal, and include the full reference in the main reference list for your paper.
• << Previous: Reference list
• Next: Books >>
• Last Updated: May 28, 2024 1:25 PM
• URL: https://libguides.scu.edu.au/harvard

Southern Cross University acknowledges and pays respect to the ancestors, Elders and descendants of the Lands upon which we meet and study. We are mindful that within and without the buildings, these Lands always were and always will be Aboriginal Land.

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• Introduction
• Finding sources

Evaluating sources

• Integrating sources

Citing sources

Tools and resources, a quick guide to working with sources.

Working with sources is an important skill that you’ll need throughout your academic career.

It includes knowing how to find relevant sources, assessing their authority and credibility, and understanding how to integrate sources into your work with proper referencing.

This quick guide will help you get started!

Finding relevant sources

Sources commonly used in academic writing include academic journals, scholarly books, websites, newspapers, and encyclopedias. There are three main places to look for such sources:

• Research databases: Databases can be general or subject-specific. To get started, check out this list of databases by academic discipline . Another good starting point is Google Scholar .
• Your institution’s library: Use your library’s database to narrow down your search using keywords to find relevant articles, books, and newspapers matching your topic.
• Other online resources: Consult popular online sources like websites, blogs, or Wikipedia to find background information. Be sure to carefully evaluate the credibility of those online sources.

When using academic databases or search engines, you can use Boolean operators to refine your results.

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Get started

In academic writing, your sources should be credible, up to date, and relevant to your research topic. Useful approaches to evaluating sources include the CRAAP test and lateral reading.

CRAAP is an abbreviation that reminds you of a set of questions to ask yourself when evaluating information.

• Currency: Does the source reflect recent research?
• Relevance: Is the source related to your research topic?
• Authority: Is it a respected publication? Is the author an expert in their field?
• Accuracy: Does the source support its arguments and conclusions with evidence?
• Purpose: What is the author’s intention?

Lateral reading

Lateral reading means comparing your source to other sources. This allows you to:

• Verify evidence
• Contextualize information
• Find potential weaknesses

If a source is using methods or drawing conclusions that are incompatible with other research in its field, it may not be reliable.

Integrating sources into your work

Once you have found information that you want to include in your paper, signal phrases can help you to introduce it. Here are a few examples:

Following the signal phrase, you can choose to quote, paraphrase or summarize the source.

• Quoting : This means including the exact words of another source in your paper. The quoted text must be enclosed in quotation marks or (for longer quotes) presented as a block quote . Quote a source when the meaning is difficult to convey in different words or when you want to analyze the language itself.
• Paraphrasing : This means putting another person’s ideas into your own words. It allows you to integrate sources more smoothly into your text, maintaining a consistent voice. It also shows that you have understood the meaning of the source.
• Summarizing : This means giving an overview of the essential points of a source. Summaries should be much shorter than the original text. You should describe the key points in your own words and not quote from the original text.

Whenever you quote, paraphrase, or summarize a source, you must include a citation crediting the original author.

Citing your sources is important because it:

• Allows you to avoid plagiarism
• Establishes the credentials of your sources
• Backs up your arguments with evidence
• Allows your reader to verify the legitimacy of your conclusions

The most common citation styles are APA, MLA, and Chicago style. Each citation style has specific rules for formatting citations.

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• AI detector: Find out if your text was written with ChatGPT or any other AI writing tool. ChatGPT 2 & ChatGPT 3 supported.
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• Citation checker: Check your work for citation errors and missing citations.
• Knowledge Base : Explore hundreds of articles, bite-sized videos, time-saving templates, and handy checklists that guide you through the process of research, writing, and citation.

Postgraduate Advanced Clinical Education (PACE) study support guide: 5. Citing references

• 1. University jargon-buster
• 2. Library resources
• 3. Literature searching
• 4. Plagiarism
• 5.1 Using EndNote
• 6.1 Academic writing
• 6.2 Reflective practice & writing
• 6.3 Understanding feedback
• 6.4 Presentations
• 6.5 Preparing for exams and OSCEs

General guidance on referencing

• Video intro to referencing and plagiarism

Referencing also...

• Provides evidence of the depth and breadth of your reading
• Enables the reader to find the source and read in more detail
• Gives your work academic authority
• Protects intellectual property rights

Which style should I use?

For PACE programmes guidance is provided below for a numbered style (Vancouver) and an author-year style (Harvard).  However you can use a different style as long as your references are clear and consistent.

If you are new to referencing and not familiar with using the more advanced features of word processing software, we advise using the Harvard format for longer assignments as it is easier to keep track of the placement and order of your references, but it will eat into your word count. The numbered Vancouver style is useful for shorter assignments but can become impractical for longer ones (unless using a reference management system like EndNote). 

Further support with writing references

For further help with formatting your references consult your Academic Liaison Librarian, Jackie Skinner - email or make an appointment (contact details below).

This video gives an overview of why and how you should reference materials used in your assignments. You will need to login with your University username and password to view this video.

Quick links to referencing guidance

Vancouver referencing

Guidance on using the numbered Vancouver style of referencing.

Harvard referencing

Guidance on using the name-year Harvard referencing style.

Secondary referencing

Guidance on citing a source you have read about in another source (to be avoided if possible!)

Citing images, tables, diagrams, charts

Referencing visual elements taken from other sources.

Vancouver referencing - click on the tabs for guidance on specific publications

• General guidance
• Video guide to Vancouver
• Chapters in edited books
• Journal articles
• British Pharmacopoeia
• NICE guidelines
• Local guidelines
• SmPCs/PILs on EMC
• Systematic reviews on the Cochrane Library
• Clinical trials
• Materials posted on Blackboard

Vancouver is a numbered style. Each piece of work cited should have a unique number, assigned in order (your first reference is 1, your second is 2 etc.). It is a very plain style with little punctuation and no text formatting such as italics, underlining or bold.

In-text citations

When adding an in-text citation to your document you can write the number in brackets:

Medical systems need to be carefully considered and designed to reduce the likelihood of medication errors (1).

How do I cite multiple sources together?

• When citing two or more sources at once, write a number for each separated by a comma e.g. (1, 2) or (6, 12)
• When citing more than two sources which are numbered consecutively, use a hyphen instead of a comma e.g. (3-5)

For example:

There are many studies that have examined the effect of alcohol on cognitive impairment (1,2, 4-7, 9).

Other citation questions

How should i refer to authors in the text.

You do not have to refer to the authors' names in the text but it may help the flow of your writing to do so.

Two authors: give both author's surnames linked with 'and'. For example:

A recent study by Chen and Lee (4) found that...

Three or more authors: use the first author's surname followed by "et al.". For example:

A recent study by Rang et al. (2) found that...

An organisation: give the full name with any recognised abbreviation in brackets afterwards e.g. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). Thereafter you can refer to it using the abbreviation. Give the full name and abbreviation in the full reference. For example:

A survey by Asthma UK found that one in 20 people suffer from severe asthma (6).

How do I include a quote from a source?

If directly quoting from a work, you need to use single quotation marks. Include a page number in the in-text citation. For example:

More recently, a paper by Walker et al. (3) stated that 'student pharmacists are valuable and important to practice model transformation' (p. 47).

A paper by Walker et al.stated that 'student pharmacists are valuable and important to practice model transformation' (3, p. 47).

How do I refer to a source referenced in another work?

This type of referencing is known as secondary referencing and should be avoided wherever possible, as the author citing the work may have their own bias or misinterpretation. It is better to seek out the original reference (in this example, Ahmed’s) and cite it directly if it is useful.

You need to include both authors' names in the body of your text to show that you have not read the original article. In the final reference list, you should only include the reference you have read yourself (Jones in this example):

According to Ahmed as cited in Jones (5)...

Reference list

References must be listed at the end of your document in numerical order based on the order of citation.  If you use the same source more than once, the original citation number should be used. 

Author names

Cited by Surname Initials - there is no comma between the surname and initials, nor any full stop or space between initials.

Multiple authors

Authors should be listed in the order they appear on the publication. Only list the first six authors followed by et al. 

Monzer NL, Hartmann M, Buckert M, Wolff K, Nawroth P, Kopf S et al. 

Additional guidance

See the tabs in this box for additional guidance and relevant examples. Our Vancouver guidance is closely aligned with that given in the 'Cite them right' book and website (below). You can find extra publication types and examples via this website. Note that we deviate from this guide in some case to make references simpler. For instance you should put journal names in full not abbreviated.

• Vancouver referencing guidance in Cite Them Right

Find an overview of the essentials of Vancouver referencing in this video (8 mins). You will need to login with your University username and password to view this video.

Citing books and e-books

Most books and e-books can be cited in the same way. If you are viewing the PDF of a printed book there is no need to include the web address in your reference if you have the place published and publisher.

Include the following in your reference:

• Author(s) or editors in the format Surname Initials (no full stops or spaces between initials). For books with more than six authors list the first six followed by 'et al.'
• Title of book (capitalise only the first letter of the first word and any proper nouns)
• Edition (if not the first)
• Place of publication: Publisher; Year. You can usually find this information on the title page or following page.

Copy the format and punctuation of these examples:

• Ritter JM, Flower RJ, Henderson G, Loke YK, MacEwan D, Robinson E, Fullerton J. Rang & Dale's pharmacology. 10th ed. London: Elsevier; 2024.
• Ashley C, Dunleavy A, editors. The renal drug handbook: the ultimate prescribing guide for renal practitioners. 5th ed. Boca Raton: CRC Press; 2019.

Citing online only books

Some books are born digital and are not published in a traditional format. If the book does not have a Place published and Publisher then you will need to follow this guidance. Include the following in your reference:

• Author(s) or editors in the format Surname Initials (no full stops or spaces between initials) For books with more than six authors list the first six followed by 'et al.'
• Year. 
• [cited year month day] - the date you looked at it e.g. [cited 2022 Jun 18] You can usually find this information on the title page or following page.
• Available from: https://doi.org... or web address

Note: if you are unable to find a place published and publisher you will need to cite the item following the web page guidance.

• UK Health Security Agency. Immunisation against infectious disease (The Green Book) [Internet]. 2021 [cited 2024 Jan 26]. Available from: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immunisation-against-infectious-disease-the-green-book.
• Grabrucker AM, editor. Autism spectrum disorders [Internet]. 2021 [cited 2024 Feb 10]. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK573612/.

Note: Using StatPearls? Follow the guidance on citing an online only book chapter .

EndNote tips

• Use the Reference Type 'Book'
• Author: in the format surname, initials, each author on a separate line
• Place published:
• Edition: if not the first - just add the number e.g. 2nd, 3rd
• Use the Reference Type  'Edited book'
• Same as above but instead of the Author field fill in the Editor field 
• Use the Reference Type 'Electronic Book'
• Type of Medium: Internet
• Year Cited: in the format 2024
• Date Cited: in the format month day e.g. Jan 23
• URL: paste in the web link
• Note that even with the information entered as above EndNote will not quite format the reference correctly - the edition will not appear and for edited e-books 'editors' will not be added after the editor names. To correct this, as a final step before submission, create a plain text version of your document. Go to the EndNote toolbar in Word and select 'Convert citations and bibliography' to 'Plain text' (this will be under 'Tools' on the Mac version of the toolbar). This will create a copy of your document which is divorced from EndNote so that you can make final tweaks to the references to match the guidance above.

Citing chapters in printed books and e-books with publication details

Follow this guidance to cite a printed book or an e-book which has the publisher and place published information. Include the following in your reference:

• Chapter author(s) in the format Surname Initials (no full stops or spaces between initials)
• Title of chapter. (capitalise only the first letter of the first word and any proper nouns)
• Editor(s) of the book followed by , editors
• Title of book. (capitalise only the first letter of the first word and any proper nouns)
• Place of publication: Publisher; Year.
• Page numbers of the chapter preceded by p. Abbreviate where appropriate e.g. 110-128 would be 110-28, 450-455 would be 450-5.

Copy the format and punctuation of this example

• Singh H, Khurana LK, Singh R. Pharmaceutical development. In: Vohora D, Singh G, editors. Pharmaceutical medicine and translational clinical research. London: Academic Press; 2018. p. 33-46.
• Davies J, Nuttall D. Prescribing for specific groups. In: Nuttall D, Rutt-Howard J, editors. The textbook of non-medical prescribing. 3rd ed. Hoboken: Wiley; 2020. p. 238-73.

Citing chapters in online only books

Some books are born digital and are not published in a traditional format. When citing chapters in these include the following in your reference:

• Chapter author(s) in the format Surname Initials  (no full stops or spaces between initials)
• Title of chapter. (capitalise only the first letter of the first word and any proper nouns)
• [cited year month day] - the date you looked at it e.g. [cited 2022 Jun 18]
• Page numbers of the chapter if available preceded by p. Abbreviate where appropriate e.g. 110-128 would be 110-28, 450-455 would be 450-5.
• UK Health Security Agency. Immunisation by nurses and other healthcare professionals. In: Immunisation against infectious disease (The Green Book) [Internet]. 2013. p. 35-9 [cited 2024 Feb 3]. Available from: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immunisation-by-nurses-and-other-health-professionals-the-green-book-chapter-5.
• Kawakami S, Otsuka S. Multisensory processing in autism spectrum disorders. In: Grabrucker AM, editor. Autism spectrum disorders [Internet]. 2021 [cited 2024 Jan 7]. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK573612/.
• Squadrito FJ, del Portal D. Nitrofurantoin. In: StatPearls [Internet]. 2022 [cited 2024 Feb 1]. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK470526/.

Endnote tips

• Use the Reference Type 'Book Section'
• Author(s): in the format surname, initials. Each author on a separate line.
• Title: title of chapter 
• Editor(s): in the format surname, initials. Each editor on a separate line.
• Book title: capitalise only the first letter of the first word and any proper nouns
• Pages: page numbers for the chapter
• Use the Reference Type 'Electronic Book Section'
• Title: chapter title
• Editor: (if there is one)
• Book Title:
• Type of Work: Internet
• Access Date: in the format year, month (abbreviated to three letters) day e.g. 2024 Jan 21
• Note that even with all the required information entered in EndNote it will not format the reference correctly - the Edition and Type of Work will not be in the correct place. For edited e-books 'editors' will not be added after the editor names. The Access Date will be repeated at the end. To correct this, as a final step before submission, create a plain text version of your document. Go to the EndNote toolbar in Word and select 'Convert citations and bibliography' to 'Plain text' (this will be under 'Tools' on the Mac version of the toolbar). This will create a copy of your document which is divorced from EndNote so that you can make final tweaks to the references to match the guidance above.

Note that the way you enter a chapter on EndNote for the Vancouver style is different from the way you enter it for the Harvard style. It is not possible to reuse one entry in both styles.

Citing journal articles which have page numbers or article reference numbers

• Article author(s) in the format Surname Initials (no full stops or spaces between initials). For articles with more than six authors list the first six followed by 'et al.'
• Title of article. (capitalise only the first letter of the first word and any proper nouns)
• Journal title in full (use a capital letter at the start of each significant word in the title) Note: we are not following the 'Cite them right' guidance to abbreviate journal names.
• Volume number
• Issue number in brackets (where present)
• Page numbers or article reference number. Abbreviate page ranges where appropriate e.g. 110-128 would be 110-28, 450-455 would be 450-5.

Copy the format and punctuation of this example:

Rana MN, Neeland IJ. Adipose tissue inflammation and cardiovascular disease: an update. Current Diabetes Reports.   2022; 22(1):27-37. 

Monzer NL, Hartmann M, Buckert M, Wolff K, Nawroth P, Kopf S et al. The cardiac autonomic response to acute psychological stress in type 2 diabetes. PloS One. 2022;   17(3):e0265234.

Citing online journal articles without page numbers or article reference numbers

• Article author(s) in the format Surname Initials (no full stops or spaces between initials). For articles with more than six authors list the first six followed by 'et al.'
• Available from: https://doi.org/... or web address if no DOI. When including a web address make sure it is as short as possible and doesn't include intermediate websites or your search string. 

Azpiroz F, Dubray C, Bernalier-Donadille A, Cardot JM, Accarino A, Serra J, Wagner A, Respondek F, Dapoigny M. Effects of scFOS on the composition of fecal microbiota and anxiety in patients with irritable bowel syndrome: a randomized, double blind, placebo controlled study. Neurogastroenterology & Motility [Internet]. 2017 [cited 2024 Jan 24] ;29(2). Available from: https://doi.org/10.1111/nmo.12911.

Note: if an article is in press and doesn't yet have a volume number treat like as above but add 'Forthcoming' before the year:

Vaghari-Tabari M, Jafari-Gharabaghlou D, Mohammadi M, Hashemzadeh MS. Zinc oxide nanoparticles and cancer chemotherapy: helpful tools for enhancing chemo-sensitivity and reducing side effects? Biological Trace Element Research [Internet]. Forthcoming 2024 [cited 2024 Jan 28]. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-023-03803-z

You should be able to download details for most articles from databases such as Summon, Web of Science, Scopus and PubMed. If you need to type one in from scratch this is the information to include.

For most articles

• Use the Reference Type 'Journal Article'
• Author: in the format surname, initials - each author on a separate line
• Title: title of the article - in lower case apart from the first letter of the first word and any proper nouns
• Journal: name of the journal - give the journal name in full, not abbreviated. Use initial capital letters on all significant words.
• Issue: (if present)
• Pages: page numbers or article reference number

For online only articles without page numbers or an article reference number and 'In press' articles:

• Use Reference Type 'Electronic Article'
• Periodical Title: name of the journal - give the journal name in full, not abbreviated. Use initial capital letters on all significant words.
• Volume: (if the article doesn't yet have a volume number add 'Forthcoming ' before the year - as in the above example)
• Issue: (put in press here for articles currently being published).
• Date Cited in the format month day e.g. Feb 5.
• URL: paste in the web link for the article or move the DOI from the DOI field and add https://doi.org/ in front of it e.g. https://doi.org/10.1136/ejhpharm-2021-003215 If there is already a URL in the box check that it goes to the article, not back to the reference on the database you downloaded it from. Replace any database links with the DOI with https://doi.org/ in front of it or add the direct link to the article. When including a web address make sure it is as short as possible and doesn't include intermediate websites or your search string. 

Citing websites or webpages

You should avoid citing webpages unless you are clear of their quality and suitability for inclusion in academic work. See the 'Websites' tab within this guide for more information on evaluating webpages.

Only follow this guidance if the item you want to reference is not a book, a book chapter or a journal article.  When you search the internet you will find many different types of content. The first step to referencing correctly is to recognise what you are looking at.

• Could it be a book? Is it a PDF? Does it have a title page giving the title and the authors/editors? Does it have a place published and publisher on the following page? If 'Yes' it is probably a book - follow the guidance on citing a book.
• Could it be a book chapter? Does it say 'Chapter' on it? Does it have page numbers? If 'Yes' it could be a book chapter - follow the guidance on citing a book chapter.
• Could it be journal article? Does it have an abstract or summary? Does it mention the name of a journal and have a volume number? If 'Yes' it could be a journal article - follow the guidance on citing a journal article.

For guidance on citing specific, commonly used pharmacy-related sources see the other tabs in this box.

Citing reputable websites and webpages

• Author(s)/Organisation name
• Title of page/document (capitalise only the first letter of the first word and any proper nouns)
• [Internet].
• Year created/updated (for webpages with no date omit this element - see the final example)
• [cited year month day] - the date you looked at it e.g. [cited 2022 Feb 18]
• Available from: web link. When including a web address make sure it is as short as possible and doesn't include intermediate websites or your search string. 

Use the format and punctuation shown in these examples:

• Reynolds M. How the team monitoring new and emerging infectious diseases could help prevent the next pandemic [Internet]. 2023 [cited 2024 Feb 2]. Available from: https://ukhsa.blog.gov.uk/2023/08/08/how-the-team-monitoring-new-and-emerging-infectious-diseases-could-help-prevent-the-next-pandemic/.
• DrugBank. Ranitidine [Internet]. 2024 [cited 2024 Feb 8]. Available from: https://www.drugbank.ca/drugs/DB00863.
• IUPHAR/BPS. Ibuprofen [Internet]. [cited 2024 Feb 6]. Available from:  https://www.guidetopharmacology.org/GRAC/LigandDisplayForward?ligandId=2713. (this example is for a webpage without a date)
• Use the Reference Type 'Web Page'
• Author: in the format surname, initials - each author on a separate line Organisation as the author? Put a comma after the name to ensure it formats correctly e.g. British Nutrition Foundation,
• Year: use the updated date for the page, if there isn't a date use 'no date'
• Title: (in lower case apart from the first letter of the first word and any proper nouns)
• Type of Medium: Internet
• URL: paste in the web link. When including a web address make sure it is as short as possible and doesn't include intermediate websites or your search string. 
• Organisation as the author? Put a comma after the name to ensure it formats correctly e.g. British Nutrition Foundation,

Citing the BNF

When citing the BNF you only need one generic reference, not specific references for each drug or piece of information you have used. Just make it clear in your text which drug/section you are referring to. 

Print version

• Author - Joint Formulary Committee.
• Title - British National Formulary (BNF).
• Place of publication - London:
• Publisher -  BMJ Group and Pharmaceutical Press;

Use the format and punctuation shown in this example - update the edition and year to the one you are using:

• Joint Formulary Committee. British National Formulary (BNF). 87. London: BMJ Group and Pharmaceutical Press; 2024.

Online versions (NICE and MedicinesComplete)

• Author - Joint Formulary Committee
• For the NICE website version take this from the 'Last updated' date on the BNF homepage.
• For the MedicinesComplete take this from the 'Publication last updated' date from the top of the page.
• [cited year month day] - the date you looked at it e.g. [cited 2024 Jul 29]
• Available from: https://bnf.nice.org.uk/  OR Available from: https://www.medicinescomplete.com

Copy the format and punctuation of these examples:

Full reference (NICE version): Joint Formulary Committee. British National Formulary (BNF). 27 June 2024 [Internet]. 2024 [cited 2024 Jul 4]. Available from: https://bnf.nice.org.uk/.

Full reference (MedicinesComplete version): Joint Formulary Committee. British National Formulary (BNF). 9 July 2024 [Internet]. 2024 [cited 2024 Jul 29]. Available from: https://www.medicinescomplete.com.

Access MedicinesComplete

Provides access to the British National Formulary, British National Formulary for Children and Stockley’s Drug Interactions.

Please note, due to licensing restrictions students and staff must access the BNF and BNF for Children on the MedicinesComplete platform. Use of the NICE BNF platform is only permitted for those working for, or on placement with, the NHS.

• Title - British National Formulary (BNF) app followed by the update date e.g. British National Formulary (BNF) app. June 2024.
• Format: [Mobile app].
• Year of publication - use the year given on the homepage of the app
• [cited year month day] - the date you looked at it e.g. [cited 2024 Jul 13]
• Available from: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pharmpress.bnf  OR Available from: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/bnf-publications/id1045514038

Copy the format and punctuation of this example:

Full reference: Joint Formulary Committee. British National Formulary (BNF) app. June 2024 [Mobile app]. 2024 [cited 2024 Jul 13]. Available from: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pharmpress.bnf 

For the print version

• Author: Joint Formulary Committee, (make sure you put the comma after the name to make it format correctly)
• Title: British National Formulary (BNF) followed by Version number e.g. British National Formulary (BNF) 87

For the online versions:

• Use the Reference Type 'Web Page'
• Year: 
• Title: followed by the update date e.g. British National Formulary (BNF). 9 July 2024
• Year Cited: in the format 2024
• Date Cited: in the format month day e.g. Jul 13
• URL: https://bnf.nice.org.uk/ OR https://www.medicinescomplete.com (depending on which version you are using)

For the app:

• Title: followed by the update date e.g. British National Formulary (BNF) app. June 2024
• Type of medium: Mobile app
• URL: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pharmpress.bnf OR https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/bnf-publications/id1045514038 (depending on which version you are using)

Citing the BNF for children

When citing the BNFC you only need one generic reference, not specific references for each drug or piece of information you have used. Just make it clear in your text which drug/section you are referring to. 

• Author - Pediatric Formulary Committee
• Title - BNF for children
• Publisher -  BMJ Group, Pharmaceutical Press and RCPCH Publications;

Use the format and punctuation shown in this example:

• Pediatric Formulary Committee. BNF for children. 2022-2023 ed. London: BMJ Group, Pharmaceutical Press and RCPCH Publications; 2022. 

Online versions (NICE and MedicinesComplete)

• Title - British National Formulary for children (BNFC)
• Update date For the NICE website version take this from the 'Last updated' date on the BNF homepage. For the MedicinesComplete take this from the 'Publication last updated' date from the top of the page.
• Year published For the NICE website version take this from the 'Last updated' date on the BNF homepage. For the MedicinesComplete take this from the 'Publication last updated' date from the top of the page.
• [cited year month day] - the date you looked at it e.g. [cited 2024 July 29]
• Available from: https://bnfc.nice.org.uk/  OR Available from: https://www.medicinescomplete.com

Copy the format and punctuation shown of these examples:

Full reference (NICE version): Pediatric Formulary Committee. British National Formulary for children (BNFC). 27 June 2024 [Internet]. 2024 [cited 2024 Jul 29]. Available from: https://bnfc.nice.org.uk/.

Full reference (MedicinesComplete version): Pediatric Formulary Committee. British National Formulary for children (BNFC) . 9 July 2024 [Internet]. 2024 [cited 2024 Jul 29]. Available from: https://www.medicinescomplete.com.

• Title - British National Formulary for children (BNFC) app followed by the update date e.g. British National Formulary for children (BNFC) app. June 2024.
• Year of publication - use the year given on the homepage of the BNFC section of the app
• [cited year month day] - the date you looked at it e.g. [cited 2024 Jul 29]

Full reference: Pediatric Formulary Committee. British National Formulary for children (BNFC) app. July 2024 [Mobile app]. 2024 [cited 2024 Jul 29]. Available from: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pharmpress.bnf 

• Author: Pediatric Formulary Committee, (make sure you put the comma after the name to make it format correctly)
• Title: followed by version e.g. BNF for children 2022-2023
• Place published: London
• Publisher:  BMJ Group, Pharmaceutical Press and RCPCH Publications
• Author: Pediatric Formulary Committee, (make sure you put the comma after the name to make it format correctly)
• Date Cited: in the format month day e.g. Jul 29
• Title: followed by the update date e.g. British National Formulary for children (BNFC) app. June 2024 

Citing the British Pharmacopoeia

When citing the British Pharmacopoeia you only need one generic reference, not specific references for each drug or section you have used. Just make it clear in your text which drug/section you are referring to. 

• Author - British Pharmacopoeia Commission
• Title - British Pharmacopoeia
• Version e.g. Ph. Eur. 11.4
• [cited year month day] - the date you looked at it e.g. [cited 2024 Feb 8]
• Available from: https://www.pharmacopoeia.com

Use the format and punctuation shown in this example (make sure you change the Version and dates to match the ones you use):

• British Pharmacopoeia Commission. British Pharmacopoeia. Ph. Eur. 11.4 update [Internet]. 2024 [cited 2024 Feb 8]. Available from: https://www.pharmacopoeia.com.
• Author: British Pharmacopoeia Commission, (make sure you put the comma after the name to make it format correctly)
• Title: followed by the update date e.g. British Pharmacopoeia. Ph. Eur. 11.4 update
• Date Cited: in the format month day e.g. Feb 8
• URL: https://www.pharmacopoeia.com

Access the British Pharmacopoeia

Access to the latest edition of The British Pharmacopoeia (BP), the leading collection of standards for UK medicinal products and pharmaceutical substances.

Help and guidance How to use the BP

Citing NICE guidelines

• Author - National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)
• Title of page/document including reference number in round brackets (capitalise only the first letter of the first word and any proper nouns)
• Year created/updated 
• Available from: web link (For a shorter reference use the link for the webpage instead of the longer PDF link)
• National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). Vaccine uptake in the general population (NG218) [Internet]. 2022 [cited 2024 Feb 9]. Available from: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng218.
• National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). Acute heart failure: diagnosis and management (CG187) [Internet]. 2021 [cited 2024 Jan 10]. Available from: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg187.
• Author: National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), - make sure you put a comma after the name so it formats correctly Organisation as the author? Put a comma after the name to ensure it formats correctly e.g. British Nutrition Foundation,
• Date Cited: in the format month day e.g. Jan 13
• URL: paste in the web link

Citing local guidelines

Local guidelines, although authored by individuals, should be ratified by a designated committee therefore are the work of the organisation.

Print guidelines

• Author - organisation name
• Title of policy (capitalise only the first letter of the first word and any proper nouns) and Version
• Place of publication
• Publisher (usually the same as the author)

Use the format and punctuation shown in this example:

• Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. Non-medical prescribing policy: Version 3. London: Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust; 2016.

Online guidelines

• Title of page/document (capitalise only the first letter of the first word and any proper nouns) and Version
• Year created/updated (for guidelines with no date just use the cited date)
• [cited year month day] - the date you looked at it e.g. [cited 2022 June 18]
• Available from: web link
• North East London Health & Care Partnership. North East London (NEL) management of infection guidance for primary care. August 2023 [Internet]. 2023 [cited 2024 Feb 8]. Available from: https://gp-website-cdn-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/prescribing-guideline-downloads/1697724608-4663d459fc894709f71ce7beaa8662db.pdf

For print guidelines

• Use the Reference Type 'Book'
• Author: in the format surname, initials, each author on a separate line. If the author is an organisation put a comma after the name to make sure it formats correctly e.g. Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust,
• Title: (in lower case apart from the first letter of the first word and any proper nouns) include the Version after the title e.g. Non-medical prescribing policy. Version 5

For online guidelines

• Author: in the format surname, initials, each author on a separate line. Organisation as the author? Put a comma after the name to ensure it formats correctly e.g. e.g. North East London Health & Care Partnership,
• Year Cited: in the format 2022
• Date Cited: in the format month day e.g. Dec 20

Citing Summaries of Product Characteristics (SmPCs) or Patient Information Leaflets (PILs) on the Electronic Medicines Compendium

• Author - drug company who wrote the SmPC
• Title (capitalise only the first letter of the first word and any proper nouns) followed by Electronic Medicines Compendium 
• Year created/updated
• [cited year month day] - the date you looked at it e.g. 2024 Jan 29
• Available from: web link 

Use the format and punctuation shown in these examples.

• Wokhardt UK Ltd. Aciclovir 400mg tablets summary of product characteristics. Electronic Medicines Compendium [Internet]. 2017 [cited 2024 Jan 29]. Available from: https://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/product/2352/smpc.
• Dermal Laboratories Limited. Ibugel patient information leaflet. Electronic Medicines Compendium [Internet]. 2024 [cited 2024 Feb 9]. Available from: https://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/product/3759/pil.
• Use the Reference Type 'Web Page'
• Author: company name. Put a comma after the company name to ensure it formats correctly e.g. Accord-UK Ltd.,
• Title: (in lower case apart from the first letter of the first word and any proper nouns). Add ': Electronic Medicines Compendium' after the title.
• Date Cited: in the format month day e.g. Jan 20

Citing systematic reviews in the Cochrane Library

• Author(s) in the format Surname, Initials
• Title of review
• Year month day of review
• Title of database: The Cochrane Library
• Issue number
• Article number
• Available from: web address or DOI
• Crowe L, Chang A, Wallace K. Instruments for assessing readiness to commence suck feeds in preterm infants: effects on time to establish full oral feeding and duration of hospitalisation. 2016 August 23. In: The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews [Internet]. Issue 8.  Art. No.: CD005586. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD005586.pub3.
• Use the Reference Type 'Electronic Book Section'
• Title: title of the review - in lower case apart from the first letter of the first word and any proper nouns. Add the year month day of review after the title e.g. Instruments for assessing readiness to commence suck feeds in preterm infants: effects on time to establish full oral feeding and duration of hospitalisation. 2016 August 23.
• Book title: The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews
• Edition: Issue 8. Article no.: CD005586
• Type of Work: Internet

Note that the way you enter a Cochrane Review on EndNote for the Vancouver style is very different from the way you enter it for the Harvard style. It is not possible to reuse one entry in both styles.

Access The Cochrane Library

Systematic reviews, protocols and trials on the effects of interventions in health care. Free to UK residents

Includes: -The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (Cochrane Reviews) -The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) -The Cochrane Database of Methodology Reviews (Methodology Reviews) Help and guidance You can find training materials and videos by registering with the Cochrane Library Training Hub (requires an e-mail address).

Citing clinical trials

If a trial is still ongoing you may need to refer to it directly instead of to a published paper. 

• Author - primary contact for the trial
• Trial title
• Database/registry name
• [cited year month day] - the date you looked at it e.g. [cited 2024 Jan 18]
• Available from: DOI or web address

Use the format and punctuation shown in these examples:

• Crooks M. An investigation into how adding an inhaled steroid to COPD treatment may potentially protect against heart disease. In: ISRCTN Registry [Internet]. 2023 [cited 2024 Jan 18]. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN29148209.
• Lingor P. Safety, tolerability and symptomatic efficacy of the ROCK-inhibitor Fasudil in patients with Parkinson's disease. In:  ClinicalTrials.gov [Internet]. 2023 [cited 2024 Feb 9]. Available from: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05931575.
• Title (in lower case apart from the first letter of the first word and any proper nouns) followed by . In: [name of Database/Registry] e.g. Implementing improved asthma self-management as routine. In: ISRCTN Registry

Note that the way you enter a Clinical Trial on EndNote for the Vancouver style is very different from the way you enter it for the Harvard style. It is not possible to reuse one entry in both styles.

Citing materials posted on Blackboard

Always check with the academic who set the assignment if you are allowed to refer to course materials in your own work. It is preferable to do your own research and use published sources, such as articles and books, instead of referring to lecture materials.

• Author's name in the format Surname Initials
• Title of document/presentation as given on Blackboard
• Format in square brackets e.g. [PowerPoint presentation, Lecture notes, Recorded lecture, Handout]
• Place of publication:
• Institution;
• Course details, date
• [cited year month day] - the date you looked at it e.g. [cited 2024 Jan 18]
• Available from: https://www.bb.reading.ac.uk Note that you do not need to give the specific web address for the material you are citing. The address for Blackboard is sufficient.

Copy the format and punctuation of these examples.

Example 1: PowerPoint slides

Cottrell G. The molecules of life: proteins [PowerPoint presentation]. Reading: University of Reading; PM1PY2: Fundamentals of Cell Biology; 2023 [cited 2023 Dec 2]. Available from: https://www.bb.reading.ac.uk.

Example 2: Handout with no date

University of Reading. Direct observation of procedural skills (DOPS) assessment form [Handout] Reading: University of Reading; PM2PY1: Professional Practice 2. [cited 2023 Nov 30]. Available from: https://www.bb.reading.ac.uk.

• Use the 'Web Page' Reference Type
• Place published: Reading
• Publisher: University of Reading
• Type of Medium: add the Format here e.g. PowerPoint presentation, Lecture notes, Recorded lecture, Handout
• Contents: module code and title e.g. PM2PY1: Professional Practice 2
• Date Cited: in the format month day e.g. Jan 20
• URL: https://www.bb.reading.ac.uk

Note that even with the information entered as above EndNote will not quite format the reference correctly - the module details will be in the wrong place. To correct this, as a final step before submission, create a plain text version of your document. Go to the EndNote toolbar in Word and select 'Convert citations and bibliography' to 'Plain text' (this will be under 'Tools' on the Mac version of the toolbar). This will create a copy of your document which is divorced from EndNote so that you can make final tweaks to the references.

Harvard referencing - click on the tabs for guidance on specific publications

• Video guide to Harvard
• Systematic reviews on The Cochrane Library

The 'Cite Them Right' Harvard style is an author-date system. In-text citations include the author and year of the reference. Full references are listed at the end in alphabetical order by the author's surname. See the other tabs in this box for guidance on citing specific types of publication in this style.

For the Harvard style, your in-text citation should include:

• The author of the cited work
• The year of publication of the cited work.

There are two ways of including an in-text citation and you can use both depending on how you want to structure each sentence. You can include the citation with the author’s surname and date in brackets at the end of the sentence:

Medical systems need to be carefully considered and designed to reduce the likelihood of medication errors (Ferner, 2020).

Or, you can include the author’s surname as part of your sentence, in which case only the date is in brackets:

More recently, a paper by Ferner (2020) has suggested that...

You can use a mix of these approaches in your assignment.

How many authors do I need to include in the in-text citation?

If the citation has two authors.

List both authors with 'and' or '&' in between (but be consistent in your use of 'and' or '&').

A recent study by Morbey and Smith (2021) found that...

... (Morbey and Smith, 2021) .

If the citation has three authors

List all three authors with a comma after the first author, '&' or 'and' before the last author (but be consistent in your use of 'and' or '&').

A recent study by Chen, Savana and Patel (2022) found that...

... (Chen, Savana and Patel, 2022) .

If the citation has four or more authors

Use the first author's name followed by " et al. " in italics.

A recent study by Rang et al. (2020) found that...

It has been shown previously (Rang et al. , 2020) that....

Note: you will need to include ALL authors in the full reference at the end of your document.

How do I cite more than one source for a sentence?

List the sources chronologically, separated by semi-colons.

There are many studies that have examined the effect of alcohol on cognitive impairment (Chen and Xi, 2012; Patel, 2020; Hussein et al ., 202 2) .

How do I differentiate references by the same author in the same year?

Differentiate them using letters after the year - both in the in-text citation and the full reference.

Chen and Hussein (2021a) ... and Chen and Hussein (2021b) ...

Can I cite a work by a company or organisation?

Many works by organisations do not have individually named authors. In this case, you can use the name of the organisation or company, such as Cancer Research UK or National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), as the author. This is known as a corporate author. 

Asthma UK (2015) studies have shown...    ...  (Asthma UK, 2015) .

What if I have multiple references by the same author in a sentence?

If you need to refer to two or more sources by the same author in different years, you do not need to keep repeating the author's surname in the citation. Include the surname and the oldest year first, then separate the other years by semicolons (;). The sources should be ordered by year of publication, with the oldest first.

NHS (2016; 2019; 2021) studies have consistently shown    ... (NHS, 2016; 2019; 2021)

You must include all of the sources separately in your reference list.

Do I need to include page numbers in my citation?

You only need to include a page number if directly quoting from a work. Enclose the quote in single quotation marks and include a page number in the in-text citation. For example:

More recently, a paper by Walker et al. (2020) stated that 'student pharmacists are valuable and important to practice model transformation' (p. 47) .

A recent paper stated that 'student pharmacists are valuable and important to practice model transformation' (Walker et al.,  2020, p. 47) .

This type of referencing is known as secondary referencing and should be avoided wherever possible , as the author citing the work may bring their own bias or misinterpretation. It is better to seek out the original reference and cite it directly if it is useful.

See further guidance on secondary referencing .

References must be listed at the end of your document in  alphabetical order by author surname/organisation name.  If you use the same source more than once, just use the same in-text citation as previously to refer to the same full reference. 

Cited using Surname, Initials - place a comma and a space between the surname and initials. Full stops between initials e.g.:

List all of the authors in the full reference in the order they appear on the publication.

See the tabs in this box for additional guidance and relevant examples. Our Harvard guidance is closely aligned with that given in the 'Cite them right' book and website (below). You can find extra publication types and examples via this website. Note that we deviate from this guide in some case to make references simpler e.g. only requiring DOI or web address for articles which do not have page numbers or an article reference number.

• Harvard referencing guidance in Cite Them Right

Find an overview of the essentials of Harvard referencing in this video (10 mins). You will need to login with your University username and password to view this video.

• Author/Editor name(s) in the format 'Surname, Initials'
• Year of publication (in round brackets)
• Book title (in italics or underlined) followed by a full stop.
• Edition (if 2nd edn or later)
• Place of publication followed by a colon e.g. London:

Copy the format and punctuation of these examples.

Example: book with a single author/editor

Citation in the text:      (Houghton, 2020)

Full reference:      Houghton, A.R. (2020) Making sense of the ECG: a hands-on guide.  5th edn. Boca Raton: CRC Press.

Example: book with two authors/editors

Citation in the text:   (Jeukendrup and Gleeson, 2019)

Full reference: Jeukendrup, A. and Gleeson, M. (2019) Sport nutrition . 3rd edn. Champaign: Human Kinetics.

Example: book with four or more authors/editors

Citation in the text:    (Ritter  et al. , 2023)

Full reference: Ritter, J.M., Flower, R.J., Henderson, G., Loke, Y.K., MacEwan, D., Robinson, E. and Fullerton, J. (2024)  Rang & Dale's pharmacology.  10 th edn. London: Elsevier.

Note that all authors are included in the full reference.

Where an e-book looks like a printed book (usually PDFs) and you can find all the publication information (including place published and publisher) - cite it in the same way as a printed book (above). You do not need to include the web address. 

Some books are born digital and are not published in a traditional format. Where it is not possible to find the publication information include the web address and date accessed instead, as in the examples below:

Citation in the text:    (UK Health Security Agency, 2020)

Full reference: UK Health Security Agency (2020) Immunisation against infectious disease (The Green Book) . Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immunisation-against-infectious-disease-the-green-book (Accessed: 21 January 2024).

Citation in the text:    (Grabrucker, 2021)

Full reference: Grabrucker, A.M. (ed.) (2021)  Autism spectrum disorders.  Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK573612/ (Accessed: 25 January 2024).

Note: Using StatPearls? Follow the guidance on  citing an online only book chapter .

• Editor: in the format surname, initials, each editor on a separate line
• Other fields the same as above
• Date Accessed: the date you looked looked at the book in the format day month year e.g. 17 January 2024

Citing book chapters

• Chapter author name(s) in the format 'Surname, Initials'
• Chapter title in single quotation marks
• in followed by book editor(s) name(s) in the format 'Surname, Initials' followed by (ed.) or (eds)
• Book title (in italics)
• Edition (if second edition or later)
• Publisher's name
• Chapter pagination preceeded by pp.

Include the page extent of the whole chapter when writing your full citation. Put just the pages you have referred to in the in-text citation.

Example: book chapter with three authors

Citation in the text:      (Singh, Khurana and Singh, 2018, p. 38)

Full reference:     Singh, H., Khurana, L.K. and Singh, R. (2018) 'Pharmaceutical development', in Vohora, D. and Singh, G. (eds) Pharmaceutical medicine and translational clinical research . London: Academic Press, pp.33-46.

Example: book chapter with four or more authors

Citation in the text:      (Hosznyak  et al ., 2012, p. 199)

Full reference: Hosznyak, R., Hosznyak, E., Westaway, A. and Graveson, J. (2017) 'Eye, ear, nose and throat assessment', in Ranson, M. and Abbott, H. (eds)  Clinical examination skills for healthcare professional . 2nd edn. Keswick: M & K Publishing, pp. 126-137.

Where an e-book chapter looks like a printed book chapter (usually PDFs) and you can find all the publication information (including place published and publisher) - cite it in the same way as a printed book (above). You do not need to include the web address.

Where it is not possible to find the publication information include the web address and date accessed instead:

• Chapter author(s) in the format 'Surname, Initials' 
• Chapter title in single quotation marks. Capitalise only the first letter of the first word and any proper nouns.
• 'in' followed by book editor(s) name(s) in the format 'Surname, Initials' followed by (ed.) or (eds)
• Book title (in italics). Capitalise only the first letter of the first word and any proper nouns.
• Edition (if 2nd or later)
• Available at: https://doi.org... or web address
• Accessed: date in round brackets (date in this format 25 January 2022)

UK Health Security Agency (2013) 'Immunisation by nurses and other healthcare professionals', in  Immunisation against infectious disease (The Green Book) . Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immunisation-by-nurses-and-other-health-professionals-the-green-book-chapter-5 (Accessed: 3 February 2024)

Kawakami, S and Otsuka, S. (2021) 'Multisensory processing in autism spectrum disorders', in Grabrucker, A.M. (ed.)  Autism spectrum disorders . Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK573612/ (Accessed: 7 January 2024)

Squadrito, F.J. and del Portal, D. (2022) 'Nitrofurantoin', in  StatPearls . Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK470526/ (Accessed: 1 February 2024).

• Use the Reference Type  'Book Section'
• Author: in the format surname, initials. Each author on a separate line.
• Editor: (include all the editors in the format surname, initials. Each editor on a separate line)
• Book title:
• Pages: page numbers for the chapter e.g. 301-335
• Complete the details above (as much as possible)
• Add URL: paste in the web link
• Add Access Date: the date you looked looked at the book in the format day month year e.g. 3 February 2024

Note that the way you enter an online only chapter on EndNote for the Harvard style is different from the way you enter it for the Vancouver style. It is not possible to reuse one entry in both styles.

Note that the default 'Cite Them Right Harvard' style in EndNote does not handle e-book sections very well. Download and use our amended style which corrects these issues:

• Reading Cite Them Right Harvard style Once downloaded open the style and go to 'File' and 'Save as' and 'Save'. This should save it into a location where EndNote can find it and use it. You will then need to select the 'Reading Cite Them Right-Harvard' style from the list of styles in Word (click on 'Select another style' to find it).

Alternatively as a final step before submission, create a plain text version of your document. Go to the EndNote toolbar in Word and select 'Convert citations and bibliography' to 'Plain text' (this will be under 'Tools' on the Mac version of the toolbar). This will create a copy of your document which is divorced from EndNote so that you can make final tweaks to the reference to match the guidance above.

• ALL Author name(s) in the format 'Surname, Initials'
• Year of publication (in brackets)
• Article title - in lower case apart from the first letter of the first word and any proper nouns
• Journal title (in italics) - give the journal name in full, not abbreviated. Use initial capital letters on all significant words.
• Issue number (if present, in round brackets)
• Page numbers or reference number (Include the page numbers of the whole article when writing your full citation, not just the pages you have referred to)

Example: journal article with a single author

Citation in the text:    (Rhee, 2022)

Full reference:    Rhee, E. (2022) 'The influence of obesity and metabolic health on vascular health',  Endocrinology and Metabolism,  37(1), pp. 1-8.

Example: journal article with two authors

Citation in the text:    (Rana and Neeland, 2022)

Full reference:     Rana, M.N. and Neeland, I.J. (2022) 'Adipose tissue inflammation and cardiovascular disease: an update',  Current Diabetes Reports,  22(1), pp. 27-37.

Example: journal article with four or more authors and an article reference number

Citation in the text:    (Zheng  et al ., 2021)

Full reference: Zheng, Y., Phillips, C.L., Sivam, S., Wong, K., Grunstein, R.R., Piper, A.J. and Yee, B.J. (2021) 'Cardiovascular disease in obesity hypoventilation syndrome – a review of potential mechanisms and effects of therapy',  Sleep Medicine Reviews,  60, pp. 101530.

You must include all authors in the full reference.

• Available at: DOI (preceded by https://doi.org/) or Web link If including a weblink make sure it is as short as possible and doesn't include intermediate websites or your search string. 
• Accessed: date you looked at the article in the format day month year e.g. 12 January 2024.

Copy the format and punctuation of these examples:

Article with no page numbers or reference number:

Citation in the text:    (Azpiroz  et al ., 2017)

Full reference: Azpiroz, F., Dubray, C., Bernalier-Donadille, A., Cardot, J.M., Accarino, A., Serra, J., Wagner, A., Respondek, F., Dapoigny, M. (2017) 'Effects of scFOS on the composition of fecal microbiota and anxiety in patients with irritable bowel syndrome: a randomized, double blind, placebo controlled study'. Neurogastroenterology & Motility , 29(2). Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/nmo.12911 (Accessed: 29 January 2024)

In Press article

Articles are often made available before they receive their official publication details (volume and issue number). If an article is shown as 'In press' or 'Online ahead of print' and doesn't yet have these details, just use (in press) after the journal name and add the DOI web address and date accessed.

Citation in the text: (Vaghari-Tabari  et al ., 2023)

Full reference: Vaghari-Tabari, M., Jafari-Gharabaghlou, D., Mohammadi, M., & Hashemzadeh, M.S. (2023). Zinc oxide nanoparticles and cancer chemotherapy: helpful tools for enhancing chemo-sensitivity and reducing side effects?  Biological Trace Element Research  (in press). Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-023-03803-z (Accessed: 25 January 2024)

For online only articles without page numbers or an article reference number and 'In press' articles

• Use the reference Type 'Electronic Article'
• Issue: (put in press here for articles currently being published)
• Date Accessed: the date you looked at the article in the format day month year e.g. 25 January 2024.
• URL: If there isn't a DOI add the web address for the article in the URL field. If there is already a URL in the box check that it goes to the article, not back to the reference on the database you downloaded it from. When including a web address make sure it is as short as possible and doesn't include intermediate websites or your search string. 

Citing web pages or web sites

• Author name(s) in the format 'Surname, Initials', or organisation that created the page
• Year information was created or last edited (in brackets). You might need to scroll to the bottom of the page to find it. If there is no date put (no date)
• Page title (in italics and in lower case apart from the first letter of the first word and any proper nouns)
• Available at: followed by the web address. Make sure the address is as short as possible and doesn't include intermediate websites or your search string. 
• Accessed: date in round brackets

Example: webpage with a named author

Citation in the text:    (Reynolds, 2023)

Full reference:  Reynolds, M. (2023) How the team monitoring new and emerging infectious diseases could help prevent the next pandemic . Available at: https://ukhsa.blog.gov.uk/2023/08/08/how-the-team-monitoring-new-and-emerging-infectious-diseases-could-help-prevent-the-next-pandemic/ (Accessed: 2 February 2024) 

Examples: webpages with an organisation as the author

Citation in the text:      (DrugBank, 2024)

Full reference:  DrugBank (2024)  Ranitidine . Available at: https://www.drugbank.ca/drugs/DB00863 (Accessed: 8 February 2024).

Citation in the text:     (Office for Health Improvement & Disparities, 2024)

Full reference: Office for Health Improvement & Disparities  (2024)  Cardiovascular disease . Available at: https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile/cardiovascular (Accessed: 31 January 2024).

Example: webpage without a date

If there isn't a date on the website, even at the bottom of the page, use 'no date'. 

Citation in the text:     (IUPHAR/BPS, no date)

Full reference: IUPHAR/BPS (no date)  Ibuprofen . Available at: https://www.guidetopharmacology.org/GRAC/LigandDisplayForward?ligandId=2713 (Accessed: 6 February 2024).

• Access Date: the date you looked at the site in the format day month year e.g. 17 January 2024 Note there is a fault in the Cite Them Right Harvard style which omits the closing bracket after the date. Just type the closing bracket after the year in EndNote for it to appear e.g. 17 January 2024)
• URL: paste in the web link. Make sure it is as short as possible and doesn't include intermediate websites or your search string. 

You can also download our amended 'Cite Them Right-Harvard' style to correct the issue with the missing closing bracket:

When citing the BNF you only need one generic reference, not specific references for each drug or piece of information you have used. Just make it clear in your text which drug/section you are referring to. 

• Title - British National Formulary (BNF) in italics
• Place of publication: London
• Publisher: BMJ Group and Pharmaceutical Press

Citation in the text:       (Joint Formulary Committee, 2024)

Full reference: Joint Formulary Committee (2024)  British National Formulary (BNF)   87 . London: BMJ Group and Pharmaceutical Press.

• For the NICE website version take the year from the 'Last updated' date on the BNF homepage.
• For the MedicinesComplete version use the year from the 'Publication last updated' date from the top of the page instead of the date the individual drug was updated
• Available at: https://bnf.nice.org.uk/ (Accessed: date) OR Available at: https://www.medicinescomplete.com (Accessed: date) Note that you just use the site web address, not the page address for the specific drug you are using. The accessed date is the date you looked at the information in the format day month year e.g. 29 July 2024.

Citation in the text:       (Joint Formulary Committee, 2024)

Full reference (NICE version): Joint Formulary Committee (2024)  British National Formulary (BNF). 27 June 2024  . Available at: https://bnf.nice.org.uk/ (Accessed: 29 July 2024)

Full reference (MedicinesComplete version): Joint Formulary Committee (2024)  British National Formulary (BNF). 29 July 2024 . Available at: https://www.medicinescomplete.com (Accessed: 29 July  2024 )

• Year of publication (in round brackets) - use the year given on the homepage of the app
• Title - British National Formulary (BNF) app in italics
• BNF update date - use the month and year from given on the homepage of the app
• Available at (use the Google Android or Apple Mac link depending on which you are using) followed by (Accessed: date): Available at: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pharmpress.bnf (Accessed: date) Available at: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/bnf-publications/id1045514038 (Accessed: date) The accessed date is the date you looked at the information in the format day month year e.g. 9 July 2024.

Full reference: Joint Formulary Committee (2024)  British National Formulary (BNF) app. June 2024 . [Mobile app]. Available at: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pharmpress.bnf (Accessed: 9 July 2024).

• Access Date: the date you looked at the site in the format day month year e.g. 29 July 2024 Note there is a fault in the Cite Them Right Harvard style which omits the closing bracket after the date. Just type the closing bracket after the year in EndNote for it to appear e.g. 29 July 2024 )
• Note that if you have added Type of Medium 'Internet' to comply with the Vancouver style, you will need to remove it to create a correct Harvard reference. 
• Title: followed by the update date e.g. British National Formulary (BNF). June 2024 

Citing the British National Formulary for children (BNFC)

• Author(s): Pediatric Formulary Committee
• Title: British National Formulary for children (in italics) and version
• Publisher: BMJ Group, Pharmaceutical Press and RCPCH Publications

Copy the format and punctuation of this example.  Make sure you check the date and edition of the version you are using.

Citation in the text:      (Pediatric Formulary Committee, 2022)

Full reference: Pediatric Formulary Committee (2022)  British National Formulary for children   2022-2023 . London: BMJ Group, Pharmaceutical Press and RCPCH Publications.

• Year of publication (in round brackets) For the NICE website version take the year from the 'Last updated' date on the BNFC homepage. For the MedicinesComplete version use the year from the 'Publication last updated' date from the top of the page you are viewing.
• Title: British National Formulary for children (BNFC)  (in italics)
• BNFC update date For the NICE website version take this from the 'Last updated' date on the BNFC homepage. For the MedicinesComplete take this from the 'Publication last updated' date from the top of the page.
• Available at: https://bnfc.nice.org.uk/ (Accessed: date) OR Available at: https://www.medicinescomplete.com (Accessed: date) Note that you just use the site web address, not the page address for the specific drug you are using. The accessed date is the date you looked at the information in the format day month year e.g.29 July 2024.

Copy the format and punctuation of this example.  Make sure you check the date and edition (month and year) of the version you are using.

Citation in the text:      (Pediatric Formulary Committee, 2024)

Full reference (NICE version): Pediatric Formulary Committee (2024)  British National Formulary for children (BNFC) . 27 June 2024. Available at: https://bnfc.nice.org.uk/ (Accessed: 4 July 2024)

Full reference (MedicinesComplete version): Pediatric Formulary Committee (2023)  British National Formulary for children (BNFC) . 9 July 2024 . Available at: http://www.medicinescomplete.com (Accessed: 24 July 2024)

• Title - British National Formulary for children (BNFC) app in italics
• BNFC update date - use the month and year from given on the homepage of the app
• Available at (use the Google Android or Apple Mac link depending on which you are using) followed by (Accessed: date): Available at: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pharmpress.bnf (Accessed: date) Available at: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/bnf-publications/id1045514038 (Accessed: date) The accessed date is the date you looked at the information in the format day month year e.g. 1 July 2024.

Citation in the text:       (Pediatric Formulary Committee, 2024)

Full reference: Pediatric Formulary Committee (2024)  British National Formulary for children (BNFC) app. June 2024 . [Mobile app]. Available at: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pharmpress.bnf (Accessed: 14 July 2024)

• Title: followed by version e.g. British National Formulary for children 2022-2023
• Title: followed by the latest update date (see above for where to find this date) e.g. British National Formulary for children (BNFC). 9 July 2024
• Access Date: the date you looked at the site in the format day month year e.g. 24 July 2024 Note there is a fault in the Cite Them Right Harvard style which omits the closing bracket after the date. Just type the closing bracket after the year in EndNote for it to appear e.g. 24 July 2024 )
• URL: https://bnfc.nice.org.uk/ OR https://www.medicinescomplete.com (depending on which version you are using)
• Title: followed by the update date e.g. British National Formulary for children (BNFC). June 2024 
• Access Date: the date you looked at the site in the format day month year e.g. 23 July 2024 Note there is a fault in the Cite Them Right Harvard style which omits the closing bracket after the date. Just type the closing bracket after the year in EndNote for it to appear e.g. 23 July 2024 )
• Author: British Pharmacopoeia Commission
• Title: British Pharmacopoeia. Version. (in italics)
• Available at: https://www.pharmacopoeia.com (Accessed: date)

Copy the format and punctuation of this example (make sure you change the Version and dates to match the ones you use):

Citation in the text:      (British Pharmacopoeia Commission, 2024)

Reference list: British Pharmacopoeia Commission. (2024).  British Pharmacopoeia . Ph. Eur. 11.4 update. Available at: https://www.pharmacopoeia.com (Accessed: 8 February 2024)

• Access Date: the date you looked at the site in the format day month year e.g. 8 February 2024 Note there is a fault in the Cite Them Right Harvard style which omits the closing bracket after the date. Just type the closing bracket after the year in EndNote for it to appear e.g. 8 February 2024)
• Author: National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)
• Year created/updated (use the most recent date) in round brackets
• Title of document/page  (in italics) followed by the guideline reference number in round brackets
• Available at: followed by the web address

Copy the format and punctuation of this example.

In-text citation:   (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), 2021)

Full reference: National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) (2021)  Acute heart failure: diagnosis and management (CG187).  Available at: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg187 (Accessed: 28 January 2024)

• Access Date: the date you looked at the site in the format day month year e.g. 28 January 2024 Note there is a fault in the Cite Them Right Harvard style which omits the closing bracket after the date. Just type the closing bracket after the year in EndNote for it to appear e.g. 28 January 2024)
• URL: paste in the web link (For a shorter reference use the link for the webpage instead of the longer PDF link)
• Year of publication in round brackets
• Title of policy and Version (in italics)
• Publisher (often the same as the author)

Use the text formatting and punctuation shown in this example.

Citation in the text:     (Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, 2023)

Full reference: Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust (2023)  Non-medical prescribing policy .  Version 5. London: Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust.

• Title of policy and Version  (in italics)

Citation in the text:     (North East London Health & Care Partnership, 2023)

Full reference: North East London Health & Care Partnership  (2023)  North East London (NEL) management of infection guidance for primary care . August 2023 . Available at: https://gp-website-cdn-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/prescribing-guideline-downloads/1697724608-4663d459fc894709f71ce7beaa8662db.pdf (Accessed: 8 February 2024)

• Use the Reference Type 'Web Page' 

Citing SmPCs (Summaries of Product Characteristics) OR PILs (Patient Information Leaflets) on the Electronic Medicines Compendium

• Author - drug company who wrote the SmPC
• Year updated on EMC
• Title followed by Electronic Medicines Compendium.  (in italics)

Citation in the text:     (Wockhardt UK Ltd, 2017)

Full reference: Wokhardt UK Ltd (2017)  Aciclovir 400mg tablets summary of product characteristics . Electronic Medicines Compendium . Available at: https://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/product/2352/smpc (Accessed: 25 January 2024).

Citation in the text:      (Dermal Laboratories Limited, 2024)

Full reference: Dermal Laboratories Limited (2024)  Ibugel patient information leaflet . Electronic Medicines Compendium . Available at: https://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/product/3759/pil (Accessed: 7 February 2024).

• Author: company name. Put a comma after the company name to ensure it formats correctly e.g. Wockhardt UK Ltd,
• Access Date: the date you looked at the site in the format day month year e.g. 7 February 2024 Note there is a fault in the Cite Them Right Harvard style which omits the closing bracket after the date. Just type the closing bracket after the year in EndNote for it to appear e.g. 7 February 2024)

Citing systematic reviews on The Cochrane Library database

• Title of review (in single quotation marks)
• Database name (in italics)
• Article number (CD ...)
• DOI or Available at: web address (Accessed: date)

Citation in the text:     (Crowe, Chang and Wallace, 2016)

Reference list: Crowe, L., Chang, A., and Wallace, K. (2016) 'Instruments for assessing readiness to commence suck feeds in preterm infants: effects on time to establish full oral feeding and duration of hospitalisation',  Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews,  8, CD005586, DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD005586.pub3

• Use the Reference Type 'Electronic article'
• Title: title of the review - in lower case apart from the first letter of the first word and any proper nouns
• Periodical Title: The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews
• Volume: Issue number, Article number e.g. 8, CD005586

Note that the way you enter a Cochrane Review on EndNote for the Harvard style is very different from the way you enter it for the Vancouver style. It is not possible to reuse one entry in both styles.

Although most references refer to the published paper as this details the results of the clinical trial, depending on the context of what you write you may need to reference the clinical trial itself.

• Author(s) in the format Surname, Initials (this will be the primary contact for the trial)
• Title of trial (in single quotation marks)
• Database/registry name (in italics)
• Trial reference number

Example 1: with a DOI

Citation in the text:     (Crooks, 2023)

Full reference: Crooks, M. (2023) 'An investigation into how adding an inhaled steroid to COPD treatment may potentially protect against heart disease',  ISRCTN , ISRCTN29148209. DOI: 10.1186/ISRCTN29148209 .

Example 2: without a DOI

Citation in the text:     (Lingor, 2023)

Full reference: Lingor, P. (2023) 'Safety, tolerability and symptomatic efficacy of the ROCK-inhibitor Fasudil in patients with Parkinson's disease',  ClinicalTrials.gov,  NCT05931575. Available at: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05931575 (Accessed: 9 January 2024).

• Periodical Title: Database/Registry name
• Volume: Trial number
• Date Accessed: date you looked at it in the format day month year e.g. 9 January 2024 Note there is a fault in the Cite Them Right Harvard style which omits the closing bracket after the date. Just type the closing bracket after the year in EndNote for it to appear e.g. 9 January 2024)
• DOI: add DOI if it has one
• URL: the web link if no DOI
• Note that the way you enter a Clinical Trial on EndNote for the Harvard style is very different from the way you enter it for the Vancouver style. It is not possible to reuse one entry in both styles.

Always check with your tutor if you are allowed to refer to course materials in your own work. It is preferable to use published sources where possible, such as articles and books. 

• Author's name in the format Surname, Initials
• Year in round brackets
• Title of document/presentation as given on Blackboard (in single quotation marks)
• Medium in square brackets e.g. [PowerPoint presentation, Lecture, Recorded lecture)
• Module code: module title (in italics)
• Institution
• Available at: https://www.bb.reading.ac.uk (Accessed: date)  Note that you do not need to give the specific web address for the material you are citing. The address for Blackboard is sufficient.

Citation in the text:     (Cottrell, 2023)

Full reference: Cottrell, G. (2023) 'The molecules of life: proteins' [Presentation slides]. PM1PY2: Fundamentals of Cell Biology . University of Reading. Available at: https://www.bb.reading.ac.uk (Accessed: 2 December 2023).

Example 2: Handout

Citation in the text:     (University of Reading, no date)

Full reference: University of Reading (no date)  'Direct observation of procedural skills (DOPS) assessment form' [Handout]   PM2PY1: Professional Practice 2 . University of Reading. Available at: https://www.bb.reading.ac.uk (Accessed: 20 November 2023).

For guidance on citing other types of materials posted on Blackboard see Section G7 of the following book:

• Use the Reference Type  'Web Page' 
• Series title: module code and title
• Access Date: date you looked at it in the format day month year e.g. 25 January 2024
• Type of Medium: add the Format here e.g. Presentation slides, Lecture notes, Recorded lecture, Handout
• URL: https://www.bb.reading.ac.uk 

Note that even with the information entered as above the default 'Cite Them Right-Harvard' style in EndNote will not quite format the reference correctly - the title of the document should be enclosed in single quotes and be in plain text; the module details should be in italics; there should be closing bracket after the access date; the Type of Medium should be after the document title. To correct this, as a final step before submission, create a plain text version of your document. Go to the EndNote toolbar in Word and select 'Convert citations and bibliography' to 'Plain text' (this will be under 'Tools' on the Mac version of the toolbar). This will create a copy of your document which is divorced from EndNote so that you can make final tweaks to the references.

Secondary referencing (citing a source you have read about in a different source)

A secondary reference is used when you are referring to a source which you have not read yourself, but have read about in another source.  Where possible, you should always try to read the original of anything you wish to refer to ; otherwise you are relying on the author who cited the reference to have interpreted it correctly and not taken it out of context. Use the reference list at the end of the source you are reading to find details of the reference and search for it using the search boxes below.

Find books using the Enterprise catalogue

Just type in the first author's surname and a few words from the title.

Find journal articles using Summon

Just type in the first author's surname and first part of the article title.

If you can't get hold of the original source you'll need to do a secondary reference and you should make clear that you are not using the original source. Only include the source you have used in your list of references following the guidance above on citing that type of publication. Indicate in your in-text citation that it is a secondary reference by preceeding the citation with 'as cited in' or 'as quoted in'.

Vancouver example

In-text citation:

According to France as cited in Weingart et al. (4) , hospitals use internal reporting procedures to identify...

4. Weingart, SN, Zhang L, Sweeney M, Hassett M. Chemotherapy medication errors. The Lancet Oncology, 2018; 19(4): e191-e199.

Harvard example

According to France (2003, as cited in Weingart et al. , 2018), hospitals use internal reporting procedures to identify...

Reference: 

Weingart, S.N., Zhang, L., Sweeney, M, & Hassett, M. (2018) 'Chemotherapy medication errors',  The Lancet Oncology , 19(4), pp. e191-e199.

Vancouver - just edit your text as in the example above and insert the reference for the paper you have read in the usual way.

• Insert the in-text citation for the paper you have read in the usual way.
• Right-click on the in-text citation and select ' Edit Citation(s) ' and ' More... '. 
• In the prefix box type the year of the paper you haven't read followed by a comma and space and 'as cited in ' (as in the example above). Click OK.
• In front to the in-text citation type in the author name(s) for the paper you haven't read (as in the example above), including the correct number of authors.

Citing tables, figures & images

Images, graphs, charts, diagrams and tables that you have used from books, websites and other texts should be referenced in the same way that you would any other material.

The captions for both tables and figures should include a citation if taken from or based on another source (name-year or number depending on the style you are using). When you refer to it in your writing, use the figure/table number. Give a full citation in the reference list for the source of the image.

Citing tables

Tables should be sequentially numbered with the title/legend above the table - as in this example which uses the Harvard referencing style:

Example of referring to a table in a sentence:

The macronutrient content of the diets used in the study is shown in Table 2. 

Full details for reference list (Harvard style):

Mitchell, N.S. and Ard, J.D. (2021) 'Weight loss, lifestyle, and dietary factors in cardiovascular diseases in African Americans and Hispanics', in Ferdinand, K.C., Taylor, H.A. and Rodriguez, C.J. (eds)  Cardiovascular disease in racial and ethnic minority populations . Cham: Humana Press, pp. 167-182.

Citing figures (images, graphs and diagrams)

Images, graphs and diagrams should be labelled as 'Figure' and sequentially numbered with the caption below - as in this example which uses the Harvard referencing style:

Example of referring to a figure in a sentence:

The prebiotics can induce direct or indirect effect on the gut-associated epithelial and immune cells (Figure 3).

Pujari, R. and Banerjee, G. (2021) 'Impact of prebiotics on immune response: from the bench to the clinic',  Immunology and Cell Biology , 99(3), pp. 255-273.

Decorative images

If the image is purely decorative you should still acknowledge the creator and source but there is no need to include a full reference.

See the example on the right which includes the caption: 'Image: [creator] via [website image captured from]'.

If it is a picture you have taken use this format:

'Image by author'.

Compiling your own table from multiple sources

If you are taking information from multiple sources and compiling your own table you still need to acknowledge those sources. 

The following link shows two ways of doing this. Although this is a guide to using the APA style the approaches can be adapted for use with Harvard and Vancouver.

• How to cite sources in a table (APA)

Quotes and copying information

• Copying information
• Example 1 (prose)
• Example 2 (standards)
• When taking information from a reference source which you are not putting into your own words i.e. copying and pasting you need to put quotes around the words to indicate that it is not your own work
• Students are expected to put the majority of information into their own words to demonstrate their understanding and independent thought - the amount of information in quotes should therefore be minimal
• Quotes should be reserved for situations where no alternative wording is possible and/or where it is not appropriate (e.g. quoting a standard or particular statement which supports your argument)
• Wenger (1, p. 181) argues that 'Engagement, imagination and alignment each create relations of belonging'.
• The focus of Wenger's discussion is on the way that different aspects come together to build notions of identity (1).
• Theorists have considered the impact of a variety of circumstances on the creation and expansion of identity (1-3).

Avoid quoting large blocks of text:

The NICE guidance for hypertension (1) states the following:

'Beta-blockers are not a preferred initial therapy for hypertension. However, beta-blockers may be considered in younger people, particularly:

• those with an intolerance or contraindication to ACE inhibitors and angiotensin II receptor antagonists or
• women of child-bearing potential or
• people with evidence of increased sympathetic drive'

Instead this could be paraphrased as:

NICE no longer recommend beta-blockers to be used as initial therapy for hypertension, although it is recognised that there may be circumstances in which younger patients may benefit from beta-blockers (1).  In my practice I may review younger patients, therefore I will consider the recommendations from NICE on appropriate prescribing of beta-blockers, for example women of child-bearing age, patients with increased sympathetic drive or unable to take ACE inhibitors and angiotensin II receptor antagonists.

Consider using a reference management system such as EndNote to help you reference correctly. This bibliographic management package can be used to store references, and then insert the citation in your Word document, automatically building the reference list for you in the correct style (''Vancouver' or Cite Them Right-Harvard').

Go to the EndNote page in this guide to download the software and learn how to use it:

• Using EndNote for PACE students

For information on other options for electronic management of your references see our guide to Managing references:

• Managing references

Referencing help from your librarian

• Reading School of Pharmacy referencing guide A summary and printable version of the School's referencing guidance (note this does not include as much detail as the information on this page).

Video guides to referencing

See also our short videos on referencing and avoiding plagiarism:

• Videos on avoiding plagiarism, Turnitin, using quotes and paraphrasing
• Video on Harvard referencing for Pharmacy
• Video on Vancouver referencing for Pharmacy
• << Previous: 4. Plagiarism
• Next: 5.1 Using EndNote >>
• Last Updated: Aug 27, 2024 2:32 PM
• URL: https://libguides.reading.ac.uk/pace

Home / Guides / Citation Guides / Harvard Referencing / How to reference a website using the Harvard referencing style

How to reference a website using the Harvard referencing style

This guide covers how to reference a website in Harvard style. When citing information sourced from the web, it is of paramount importance that you make very clear what it is you are referencing. As sources on the internet can vary widely, your reference should aim to provide a trail that can lead the reader directly to the source. An internet source could be almost anything, including but not limited to scholarly journal articles, newspaper articles, blog posts, and personal web pages. Your reference format for internet sources will vary based on the type of source.

Since most websites are updated from time to time, it is possible that anything you quote may be changed or removed. This means that it is important to record within your citation the date that you last accessed the site.  

Another important fact to be mindful of is that most websites do not have page numbers. If you need to reference a specific location on a website, you can use paragraph numbers in place of page numbers (abbreviated ‘para.’ in your in-text citation).  

Citation styles for different online sources

This section will elaborate on the citation style to be utilized for the following sources, along with examples for each source type.  

Web pages authored by an individual/individuals

Your references for this type of web page will include the following information:  

• Author’s/Authors’ names
• The year the site was published or last updated (in round brackets)
• Title of the web page (in italics)
• Available at: URL (Accessed: date)  

In-text citation

B. Johnson (2016) made his argument quite clear stating…

Reference list

Johnson, B. (2016) The rise of the Ubermensch. Available at: http://www.bjohnsonsworld.co.uk/theriseoftheubermensch (Accessed: 23 October 2017).

In-text citation (two authors)

After years of research, Russell and Verstappen (2013) found that…

Russell, J. and Verstappen, M. (2013) Rubber compounds and their rate of wear . Available at: http://www.dailysciencefixforyou.com/rubbercompounds (Accessed: 24 November 2019).

Web pages authored by a company or organization

Here’s the information you will need to include for this type of reference:

• Name of the company/organization
• Year the site was published or last updated (in round brackets)            
• Title of the web page (in italics)      
• Available at: URL (Accessed: date)                          

A patient may suffer mild psychosis (Rural Health Institute, 2018) as a result of…

Rural Health Institute (2018) The effects of shock therapy. Available at: http://www.rhi.co.uk/shocktherapy (Accessed: 31 October 2019).

Web pages with no author  

Citation structure :

• Title of the webpage (in italics)
• The year the site was published/last updated (in round brackets)
• Available at: URL (Accessed: date)          

Renderings of the architect’s master plan can be found online ( Gumpert’s Modernism, 2013) …

Reference List

Gumpert’s Modernism (2013) Available at: https://www.stellararchitecture.com/modernism/ (Accessed: 24 July 2020)

Web pages with no author or title

Citation structure:

• URL of the page
• (Accessed: date)        

In-text citation    

Salt dough cookies (http://www.wholesomerecipes.com/saltdough.html, 2018) are a wonderful way to….

http://www.wholesomerecipes.com/saltdough.html (2018) (Accessed: 12 September 2020).

Web pages without a date

Citation information:  

• Author’s name
• Mention that no dates were available (use ‘no date’ in round brackets)
• Title of the web page, if available (in italics)

Cuba struggled through the decade (Banana Republic News, no date) facing a constant onslaught of….

Banana Republic News (no date) The trials and tribulations of Cuba. Available at: https://www.bananafyinews.com/cuba.html (Accessed: 15 July 2019).

Multiple pages from the same website

If you need to cite multiple pages from the same website, and the pages have different authors and/or publication dates associated with them, then you can simply use corresponding individual in-text citations and reference list entries for each page that you cite. In this case, you would also include the unique URL for each page in its corresponding reference list entry. However, if the pages you are citing all have the same author and publication date, you can differentiate between them in both your reference list entries and in-text citations by adding a lowercase letter after the date.

(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2022a)

(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2022b)

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2022a)  International travel . Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/international-travel/index.html (Accessed: 18 July 2022).

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2022b) Cruise ship travel during COVID-19 . Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/cruise-travel-during-covid19.html (Accessed: 18 July 2022).

Note that if the web page has no date, insert a hyphen between the words ‘no date’ and the lowercase letter to improve readability, for example: (no date-a) or (no date-b).

Web blogs or video blogs

When citing any information from blogs or vlogs, you need to keep in mind that you are treading a very thin line between objectivity and subjectivity. Blogs or vlogs are meant to be informal as most people use them to express their perspectives on issues or topics that are close to their heart, or to comment on issues from the public domain. So, be incredibly careful as most blogs are not very well reasoned or objective in their stance.

• The year that the blog/vlog was published or last updated (in round brackets)
• Title of the blog/vlog (in single quotation marks)
• Title of the site that hosts the blog/vlog (in italics)
• The day or month the blog/vlog was posted

Note that if you’re trying to cite a vlog that was posted on YouTube, you’ll need to know how to cite a YouTube video in Harvard style .

Engelbert D’Souza (2015) has expounded on the “Mandela Effect” at great length….

D’Souza, E. (2015) ‘The Mandela Effect’, Engelbert’s monthly blog , 6 November. Available at: https://www.engelbertsmonthlyblog/november/mandelaeffect/ (Accessed: 11 September 2016).

Social networking sites  

Citation information:

• Year (in round brackets)
• Title of the post (in single quotation marks)
• [Instagram]
• Day/month of the post
• Available at: URL (Accessed: date)    

In-text citation  

Hendrix was a master of distortion and feedback (Casanova, 2018) …

Casanova, G. (2018) ‘Jimi Hendrix: wild blue angel’ [Instagram]. 18 September. Available at: https://www.instagram.com (Accessed: 7 October 2019)

• Author (if available, otherwise use the title)
• The year the article was published or last updated (in round brackets)
• Title of the post (in italics)
• Day/month the post was uploaded

The Trump rally drew large crowds in South Carolina ( Trump campaign , 2016).

Trump campaign (2016) [Facebook] 24 October. Available at: https://www.facebook.com (Accessed: 28 February 2019).

• Author of the tweet
• Twitter handle (in square brackets)
• The year the tweet was posted (in round brackets)
• The full body of the tweet (if it is too long, use an ellipsis to shorten it)
• The day/month the tweet was posted

Jasper Kuhn (2018) was quite critical about the proceedings…

Kuhn, J. [@kuhnper] (2018) It was appalling to see the leaders of the state bicker like rabid dogs in the assembly [Twitter] 31 January. Available at: https://twitter.com/kuhnper/status/161664645.654654.655 (Accessed: 17 July 2018).

Key takeaways

• While referencing anything from a website, the main aim is to provide a trail that can lead the reader directly to the source.  
• An important point to keep in mind is that you will need to cite the date you last accessed the site.  
• Since most websites do not have page numbers, use paragraph numbers to show where you found the information you used.  

Published October 29, 2020.

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• Reference a Website in Harvard Style | Templates & Examples

Reference a Website in Harvard Style | Templates & Examples

Published on 19 May 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on 7 November 2022.

To reference a website in Harvard style , include the name of the author or organization, the year of publication, the title of the page, the URL, and the date on which you accessed the website.

Different formats are used for other kinds of online source, such as articles, social media posts and multimedia content. You can generate accurate Harvard references for all kinds of sources with our free reference generator:

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Table of contents

Online articles, social media posts, images, videos and podcasts, referencing websites with missing information, frequently asked questions about harvard website references.

Blog posts and online newspaper articles are both referenced in the same format: include the title of the article in quotation marks, the name of the blog or newspaper in italics, and the date of publication.

The format for a magazine article is slightly different. Instead of a precise date, include the month, season, or volume and issue number, depending on what the magazine uses to identify its issues.

The URL and access date information are included only when the article is online-exclusive.

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To reference posts from social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, include the username and the platform in square brackets. Write usernames the way they appear on the platform, with the same capitalization and symbols.

If the post has a title, use it (in quotation marks). If the post is untitled, use the text of the post instead. Do not use italics. If the text is long, you can replace some of it with an ellipsis.

Online content is referenced differently if it is in video, audio or image form.

To cite an image found online, such as an artwork, photograph, or infographic, include the image format (e.g. ‘Photograph’, ‘Oil on canvas’) in square brackets.

Online videos, such as those on YouTube, Instagram, Vimeo and Dailymotion, are cited similarly to general web pages. Where a video is uploaded under the name of an individual, write the name in the usual format. Otherwise, write the username of the uploader as it appears on the site.

If you want to locate a specific point in a video in an in-text citation, you can do so using a timestamp.

For a podcast reference, you just need the name of the individual episode, not of the whole series. The word ‘Podcast’ is always included in square brackets. As with videos, you can use a timestamp to locate a specific point in the in-text citation.

Online sources are often missing information you would usually need for a citation: author, title or date. Here’s what to do when these details are not available.

When a website doesn’t list a specific individual author, you can usually find a corporate author to list instead. This is the organisation responsible for the source:

In cases where there’s no suitable corporate author (such as online dictionaries or Wikis), use the title of the source in the author position instead:

In Harvard style, when a source doesn’t list a specific date of publication, replace it with the words ‘no date’ in both the in-text citation and the reference list. You should still include an access date:

It’s important to assess the reliability of information found online. Look for sources from established publications and institutions with expertise (e.g. peer-reviewed journals and government agencies).

The CRAAP test (currency, relevance, authority, accuracy, purpose) can aid you in assessing sources, as can our list of credible sources . You should generally avoid citing websites like Wikipedia that can be edited by anyone – instead, look for the original source of the information in the “References” section.

You can generally omit page numbers in your in-text citations of online sources which don’t have them. But when you quote or paraphrase a specific passage from a particularly long online source, it’s useful to find an alternate location marker.

For text-based sources, you can use paragraph numbers (e.g. ‘para. 4’) or headings (e.g. ‘under “Methodology”’). With video or audio sources, use a timestamp (e.g. ‘10:15’).

In Harvard referencing, up to three author names are included in an in-text citation or reference list entry. When there are four or more authors, include only the first, followed by ‘ et al. ’

A Harvard in-text citation should appear in brackets every time you quote, paraphrase, or refer to information from a source.

The citation can appear immediately after the quotation or paraphrase, or at the end of the sentence. If you’re quoting, place the citation outside of the quotation marks but before any other punctuation like a comma or full stop.

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the ‘Cite this Scribbr article’ button to automatically add the citation to our free Reference Generator.

Caulfield, J. (2022, November 07). Reference a Website in Harvard Style | Templates & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved 26 August 2024, from https://www.scribbr.co.uk/referencing/harvard-website-reference/

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The algorithmic knowledge gap within and between countries: Implications for combatting misinformation

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While understanding how social media algorithms operate is essential to protect oneself from misinformation, such understanding is often unevenly distributed. This study explores the algorithmic knowledge gap both within and between countries, using national surveys in the United States ( N = 1,415), the United Kingdom ( N = 1,435), South Korea ( N = 1,798), and Mexico ( N = 784). In all countries, algorithmic knowledge varied across different sociodemographic factors, even though in different ways. Also, different countries had different levels of algorithmic knowledge: The respondents in the United States reported the greatest algorithmic knowledge, followed by respondents in the United Kingdom, Mexico, and South Korea. Additionally, individuals with greater algorithmic knowledge were more inclined to take actions against misinformation.

School of Journalism, Northeastern University, USA

Research Questions

• How are sociodemographic factors (e.g., age, gender, education, income, political ideology, social media use, ethnicity) associated with algorithmic knowledge?
• How is algorithmic knowledge distributed between countries?
• How does algorithmic knowledge shape individuals’ reactions to misinformation on social media?

Essay Summary

• This study explored the unequal distribution of algorithmic knowledge both within and between countries, along with its real-world implications, drawing on national surveys in the United States ( N = 1,415), the United Kingdom ( N = 1,435), South Korea ( N = 1,798), and Mexico ( N = 784).
• In the four countries with diverse technological, political, and social landscapes, algorithmic knowledge varied across different sociodemographic factors, even though in different ways.
• Different countries had different levels of algorithmic knowledge: the United States respondents reported the greatest algorithmic knowledge, followed by the United Kingdom, Mexico, and South Korea. Notably, South Korean respondents exhibited the lowest levels of algorithmic knowledge, despite having highest rates of internet penetration and social media access among the four countries.
• Varying levels of algorithmic knowledge prompted individuals to respond to misinformation differently; those possessing higher algorithmic knowledge were more inclined to undertake actions to combat misinformation on social media than those lacking algorithmic knowledge.
• Our findings indicate that algorithmic knowledge can empower social media users to combat misinformation and address social inequalities. This study also highlights the necessity of tailoring algorithmic literacy initiatives to diverse populations across social and cultural backgrounds.   

Implications

The digital divide, originally referring to the gap between people who have access to modern information and communications technology (ICT) and those who don’t (Ragnedda & Muschert, 2013), has been a concern since the advent of ICT and the internet.  It has gained renewed attention due to the growing role of algorithms. In particular, algorithms increasingly control information flow on social media, determining what users see in their feeds. Social media algorithms are designed to filter and present online content in ways that optimize user engagement and retention (Golino, 2021), often resulting in the dissemination of misinformation that aligns with users’ biases and beliefs (Bakshy et al., 2015; Hussein et al., 2020; Pariser, 2011). A notable example is Facebook’s algorithm which supported a surge of hate-filled misinformation targeting the Rohingya people, contributing to their genocide by the Myanmar military in 2017 (Mozur, 2018).

Given these dangers, social media users’ understanding of algorithms has become crucial for users’ agency, public discourse, and democracy (Gran et al., 2021; Zarouali et al., 2021). However, algorithmic knowledge (i.e., understanding of how algorithms filter and present information) may not be equally distributed among people with different sociodemographic backgrounds (i.e., the second-level digital divide, Cotter & Reisdorf, 2020; Gran et al., 2021; Klawitter & Hargittai, 2018). In many respects, algorithmic knowledge may resemble civic, political, or economic knowledge in terms of its uneven distribution, but such a point has only recently begun to attract scholarly attention. With the uneven distribution of algorithmic knowledge, some may possess the ability to scrutinize and make informed judgments about the information presented by algorithms, while others may be more susceptible to the false or biased narratives embedded in algorithmic outputs without questioning them.

Some recent studies (e.g., Cotter & Reisdorf, 2020) have explored the development of the algorithmic knowledge gap across sociodemographic backgrounds and how these gaps intersect with our understanding of digital divides. However, prior studies have primarily focused on this algorithmic knowledge gap within individual countries, neglecting potential variations between countries. Hence, it remains unclear whether the algorithmic knowledge gap found in one country is observable in different national contexts (Oeldorf-Hirsch & Neubaum, 2023). Given that algorithms operate within intricate blends of political, technological, cultural, and social dynamics (Roberge & Melançon, 2017), it is possible that certain factors hold greater influence over individuals’ algorithmic knowledge in one country, while exerting less power in other countries. Furthermore, the level of algorithmic knowledge might vary among countries, even if they share similar levels of access to the internet and social media. Lastly, while there is increasing awareness that differences in skills or knowledge of digital resources have inherent consequences in the real world (i.e., the third-level digital divide, Fuchs, 2009; Selwyn, 2004 ), the specific outcomes of the algorithmic knowledge gap have rarely been empirically examined (Scheerder et al., 2017).

Against this backdrop, this study advances research on the algorithmic knowledge gap across multiple fronts. First, by exploring the association between various sociodemographic factors and algorithmic knowledge, this study extends prior research on the second-level digital divide. Across four countries with diverse technological, political, and social landscapes, we found a degree of cross-cultural validity indicating that younger individuals and frequent social media users have greater algorithmic knowledge. Additionally, while the specific predictors varied across countries, algorithmic knowledge was unevenly distributed across education level, ethnicity, gender, and political ideology. Of note, over 90% of respondents in all four countries had access to social media (see Table 3 in Appendix B), suggesting that discussion surrounding today’s digital divide indeed needs to encompass more than just the binary distinction between individuals with access to the internet or social media and those without (i.e., the first-level digital divide).

This study also expands the existing research on the algorithmic knowledge gap which has predominantly focused on single national populations. Our findings indicate that the predictive power of specific sociodemographic factors may differ between countries. In the United States, political ideology and ethnicity were the primary predictors of algorithmic knowledge. In the United Kingdom, age, political ideology, and social media use were the significant factors. In South Korea, the main predictors included age, gender, education, and social media use, whereas in Mexico, only education and social media use were associated with algorithmic knowledge. Certain country-specific determinants warrant further attention. In economically advanced Western democracies, such as the United States and the United Kingdom, where political polarization has reached high levels in recent years (Dimock & Wike, 2020; Grechyna, 2023), political ideology emerged as the most significant factor in explaining differences in algorithmic knowledge; individuals with more liberal views were more likely to understand how social media algorithms function compared to their conservative counterparts. In contrast, in South Korea where women encounter ongoing disparities and obstacles across various societal domains (Lee, 2024), gender emerged as the most powerful predictor of algorithmic knowledge, with male respondents demonstrating a deeper understanding of algorithmic mechanisms than female respondents. These findings suggest that the algorithmic knowledge gap can manifest across various dimensions beyond traditional socioeconomic factors, such as income and education. Future research exploring additional social or cultural determinants may offer a more comprehensive understanding of the algorithmic knowledge gap, particularly in cross-country explorations.

Moreover, our findings elucidated disparities in algorithmic knowledge among countries. We found significant variations in knowledge levels across the four countries. The United States exhibited the highest overall algorithmic knowledge, followed by the United Kingdom, Mexico, and South Korea. One insight of note is that South Korea boasted the highest rates of internet penetration (98%) among the four countries examined (DataReportal, 2022). This finding once again underscores the notion that the issue of access to digital resources alone cannot offer a comprehensive understanding of the digital divide today. It also highlights the importance of considering national and cultural contexts in future research and potential interventions to enhance algorithmic knowledge.

Another important contribution of this study pertains to the outcomes of the algorithmic knowledge gap. While numerous scholars have proposed that the digital divide contributes to the perpetuation of existing social inequalities (e.g., Helsper, 2010; Van Dijk, 2006), empirical investigations into the real-world outcomes of the algorithmic knowledge gap have been limited. Bridging this gap, our study furnishes empirical evidence indicating that individuals with greater algorithmic knowledge are more inclined to take actions against misinformation. The rationale behind this link is that when people understand that social media algorithms provide information based on their previous interactions and those of similar users, they may be more aware of the risks of being trapped in filter bubbles (Pariser, 2011) that limit exposure to diverse viewpoints and make them more vulnerable to misinformation (Ciampaglia et al., 2018). Recognizing these risks might prompt people to take steps to avoid or mitigate them. Previous research supports this reasoning, indicating that individuals unaware of how algorithms tailor information to match their existing beliefs may mistakenly believe that all content they encounter on social media is unbiased and accurate (Effron & Raj, 2020), leading them to endorse or share such content without reservations (Shin & Valente, 2020). In particular, those traditionally lagging behind in terms of algorithmic knowledge—such as elderly populations or less educated—were found to be more likely to spread misinformation (Gottfried & Grieco, 2018) and more vulnerable to associated harms (Seo et al., 2021). In this light, the current study suggests the potential role of algorithmic knowledge in empowering those populations to fight misinformation and mitigate the prevailing social inequalities.

Our findings contain significant implications for social media platforms, government, and civil society, as various stakeholders attempt to curb the spread of misinformation. Much of the work to reduce the spread of misinformation has revolved around approaches such as better platform moderation (Chung & Wihbey, 2024), stronger informational labels and cues relating to quality (Chung & Wihbey, 2024), and prebunking or fact-checking (Chung & Kim, 2021; Roozenbeek et al., 2020). Furthermore, civil society and government actors often focus on debunking domain-specific misinformation in spheres such as elections and public health, with varying effectiveness (for a meta-analysis see Walter et al., 2020). However, the findings presented here indicate that developing literacy programs to improve general knowledge around algorithmic mechanisms and flow of information could be a promising alternative.  

When designing algorithmic literacy programs, special attention must be given to reaching vulnerable groups identified in this study, such as elderly or less educated populations, who may be more difficult to engage through conventional educational systems (Seo et al., 2021). It is also important to pay careful attention to the varying predictors of the algorithmic knowledge gap across countries, which we have demonstrated in this study, to optimize the effectiveness of algorithmic literacy programs in each country.

Some limitations of this study are worth noting. First, our measurement of algorithmic knowledge focused on knowledge about specific applications (Facebook and X/Twitter) and considered only one type of algorithmic operation (content recommendation for personal feeds). Given that respondents may have different levels of familiarity and experience with other social media platforms and types of algorithms, our findings may not fully represent the breadth and depth of users’ algorithmic knowledge. Therefore, we should not assume that algorithmic knowledge is inherently linked to certain sociodemographic features or nationalities discussed in this study, as these populations’ understanding of other aspects of social media algorithms may present different pictures. Future research employing a more comprehensive measurement of algorithmic knowledge (e.g., Dogruel et al., 2022) would provide us with a deeper understanding of how various sociodemographic factors and nationalities influence perceptions and understanding of social media algorithms. Second, while the anchor population statistics for each country (see Table 1 in Appendix B) were the latest available at the time of data collection, more up-to-date population statistics would offer a more accurate assessment of the representativeness of the samples.

Overall, this study adds significant nuance to the debate about how to strengthen global citizens’ ability to navigate the misinformation-prevalent social media environment. The new frontier in research relating to the algorithmic knowledge gap may in large part relate to some of the factors revealed in this study, such as the apparent role of sociodemographic factors as well as global-cultural embedding. Further research should pursue all these areas, deepening our sense of where new digital divides are emerging, why they might exist, and how interventions might help to close such gaps.

Finding 1: Algorithmic knowledge is not equally distributed across individuals with different socio-demographic backgrounds.

Consistent with the extant literature on the second-level digital divide in algorithmic knowledge (Cotter & Reisdorf, 2020; Gran et al., 2021; Klawitter & Hargittai, 2018), we found that algorithmic knowledge is not equally distributed across individuals with different sociodemographic backgrounds. As illustrated in Table 1, age has a statistically significant but modest effect on algorithmic knowledge, with younger individuals exhibiting a better understanding of algorithmic mechanisms compared to older individuals. 1 Further analyses of the data revealed that individuals between 18–24 years (the United States and the United Kingdom) and 25-34 years (South Korea) demonstrated the highest levels of algorithmic knowledge (see Table 2 in Appendix A). We also found that social media use has a modest predictive power for algorithmic knowledge, with frequent social media users having a better understanding of algorithmic operations than less active users. Additionally, individuals with higher levels of education exhibit a greater understanding of how social media algorithms curate and present content compared to less educated people in two countries. Political ideology, gender, and ethnicity were also identified as predictors of algorithmic knowledge in certain countries.  

It is important to note that the specific pattern of the algorithmic knowledge gap varied among countries. For instance, while age negatively predicted algorithmic knowledge in the United States, the United Kingdom, and South Korea, it did not have any predictive power in Mexico. Conversely, social media use was positively correlated with algorithmic knowledge in the United Kingdom, South Korea, and Mexico, but not in the United States. Education positively predicted algorithmic knowledge in South Korea and Mexico, but did not have any significant influence in the United States and the United Kingdom. Furthermore, in the United States and the United Kingdom, political ideology emerged as the primary predictor of the algorithmic knowledge gap, with individuals leaning more liberal demonstrating a greater understanding of social media algorithms compared to their conservative counterparts. In South Korea, gender was a notable predictor of the algorithmic knowledge gap, with male respondents demonstrating a significantly higher understanding of how social media algorithms operate compared to female respondents.

Finding 2: Algorithmic knowledge predicts actions to counter misinformation.

Varying levels of algorithmic knowledge prompt individuals to respond to misinformation differently, elucidating the real-world outcomes of the algorithmic knowledge gap (i.e., the third-level digital divide, Fuchs, 2009; Scheerder et al., 2017). Specifically, algorithmic knowledge was positively associated with intentions to take corrective actions in all four countries (see Table 1). Those possessing higher algorithmic knowledge were more inclined to undertake actions to combat misinformation, such as commenting to caution against potential biases or risks in media messages, sharing counter-information or opinions, disseminating information exposing the flaws in the provided media content, and reporting a misinformation post to the social media platform, as compared to those lacking algorithmic knowledge.

Finding 3: There are cross-country disparities in algorithmic knowledge.  

There was unequal distribution of algorithmic knowledge across countries. Respondents from the four countries exhibited significantly different levels of understanding about how social media algorithms work, F (3, 5428) = 107.28, p < .001. Notably, the U.S. respondents reported the greatest algorithmic knowledge ( M = 6.12, SD = 1.73), followed by the United Kingdom ( M = 6.05, SD = 1.74), Mexico ( M = 5.70, SD = 1.49), and South Korea ( M = 5.16, SD = 1.76). A Bonferroni post-hoc test indicated that there were no significant differences in the algorithmic knowledge level between respondents from the United States and the United Kingdom, whereas both groups exhibited significantly distinct levels of algorithmic knowledge compared to respondents from South Korea and Mexico, all p s < .001. Furthermore, respondents from South Korea exhibited notably lower levels of algorithmic knowledge compared to those from all other countries, all p s < .001.

Relatedly, the levels of Facebook and X/Twitter use also differed significantly across countries, F (3, 5431) = 216.12, p < .001. A Bonferroni post-hoc test revealed significant differences in Facebook and X/Twitter use among respondents from the United States, Korea, and Mexico, all p s < .001. Notably, respondents from South Korea exhibited significantly lower levels of Facebook and X/Twitter use compared to those from all other countries, all p s < .001. Respondents from the United States and the United Kingdom did not show distinct levels of Facebook and X/Twitter use from each other. Although the varying levels of Facebook and X/Twitter use (see Figure 2) did not perfectly align with the pattern of the algorithmic knowledge gap between countries (see Figure 1), it is reasonable to suggest that social media use levels contributed to the between-country algorithmic knowledge gap to some extent. Nevertheless, considering that South Korea had higher overall social media access (83%) than the other three countries (see Table 3 in Appendix B), this issue may be related to the limitations of our algorithmic knowledge measurement discussed above.

We conducted national surveys in the United States ( N = 1,415), the United Kingdom ( N = 1,435), South Korea ( N = 1,718), and Mexico ( N = 784) between April and September 2021. We used a non-probability-based quota sample to resemble the demographics of each country (see Table 1 in Appendix B). The four countries were chosen to reflect geographic diversity, a range of Internet experiences, and divergent approaches to digital literacy education (see Table 3 in Appendix B).

Respondents in the four countries were presented with the same questionnaire. We conducted a pre-test of the survey in English with students and faculty members ( N = 29) from the researchers’ university network, approximately one-third of whom were from international/non-U.S. populations. Feedback from respondents regarding question wording and order was integrated into the final survey questionnaire. 2 Pre-test feedback primarily concerned confusing or unclear language in the survey. For instance, some pre-test respondents noted that “Report the post to the social media platform” was not specific enough to measure a corrective action. Therefore, we revised the item to “Report the post as misinformation to the social media platform.” The survey questionnaire was administered in English in the United States and the United Kingdom Respondents in South Korea received a Korean version, while respondents in Mexico received a Spanish version of the survey questionnaire. The English version was translated into Korean by a native Korean speaker and into Spanish by a native Spanish speaker with advanced English skills. We then performed back-translations to ensure accuracy.

Algorithmic knowledge was measured with nine questions with yes/no options that gauged participants’ understanding of social media algorithms (modified from Brodsky et al., 2020; Powers, 2017; see Table 1 in Appendix C for question items). The number of correct answers constituted the algorithmic knowledge index (possible range of 0 to 9, M = 6.12, SD = 1.73 in the United States; M = 6.05, SD = 1.74 in the United Kingdom; M = 5.16, SD = 1.76 in South Korea; M = 5.70, SD = 1.49 in Mexico). 

Intention to take actions to counter misinformation was measured by asking respondents how likely they are to take the following actions when they encounter misinformation on social media (modified from Barnidge & Rojas, 2014; Lim, 2017, 1 = extremely unlikely, 5 = extremely likely, M = 2.82, SD = 1.13, α = .84 in the United States; M = 2.58, SD = 1.07, α = .83 in the United Kingdom; M = 2.19, SD = .93, α = .85 in South Korea; M =  3.58, SD = .93, α = .77 in Mexico).

Sociodemographic variables including age, gender, education (1 = less than high school, 9 = doctoral degree), ethnicity (in the United States and the United Kingdom only, see Table 1 in Appendix B), monthly household income (the range varied across countries), and political views (1 = very conservative, 7 = very liberal) were measured.

• Media Literacy
• / Technology

Cite this Essay

Chung, M., & Wihbey, J. (2024). The algorithmic knowledge gap within and between countries: Implications for combatting misinformation. Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) Misinformation Review . https://doi.org/10.37016/mr-2020-155

• / Appendix B
• / Appendix C

Bibliography

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Bakshy, E., Messing, M., & Adamic, L. A. (2015). Exposure to ideologically diverse news and opinion on Facebook. Science, 348 (6239), 1130–1132. https://doi.org/ 10.1126/science.aaa1160 .

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This study was supported by the Tier 1 grant (grant number: 351179) from Northeastern University.

Competing Interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

The research protocol employed was approved by an institutional review board (IRB#: 21-03-22) at Northeastern University. All survey participants were provided informed consent. Ethnicity/gender categories used in this study were based on the American Community Survey and the U.K. Census survey.

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided that the original author and source are properly credited.

Data Availability

All materials needed to replicate this study are available via the Harvard Dataverse: https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/7EHLMI